FROM-THE- LIBRARY-OF
TR1NITYCOLLEGETORONTO

TO THE PURE ALL THINGS ARE PURE"

(Puris ornnia pura)

Arab Proverb*

'Niuna cor rot ta mente intese mai sanamente parole."

"Decameron " conclutum*

'Erubuit, posuitque meum Lucrctia librum

Sed coram Bru to. Brute I recede, leget. "

Martial*

* Mieulx est de ris que de larmes escripre,

Pour ce que rire est le propre des hommes. "

RABELAIS,

"The pleasure we derive from perusing the Thousand-and-On*
Stones makes ui regret that we possess only a comparatively small
part of tfaese tmlj enchanting fictions. "

CJUCHTON'S "History of Arab**.

TO THE BOOK OF THE

Ntgftts auto a Nt

WITH NOTES ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND EXPLANATORY

VOLUME VI.

BY

RICHARD F. BURTON

PRINTED BY THE BURTON CLUB FOR PRIVATE
SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Shammar Edition

Limited to one thousand numbered sets,
of which this is

PRINTED IN U. S. A,

2

89034

CONTENTS OF THE SIXTH VOLUME

PAGE

1. THE SAY OF HAYKAR THE SAGE ,

2. THE HISTORY OF AL-BUNDUKANI OR THE CALIPH

HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE DAUGHTER OF KING
KISRA 39

3- THE LINGUIST-DAME, THE DUENNA AND THE KING'S

SON S7

NOTE TO THE LINGUIST-DAME . . . . . . .112

4. THE TALE OF THE WARLOCK AND THE YOUNG COOK OF

BAGHDAD 1 19

5. THE PLEASANT HISTORY OF THE COCK AND THE FOX . 143

6. HISTORY OF WHAT BEFEL THE FOWL WITH THE FOWLER 151

7. THE TALE OF ATTAF 165

THE TALE OF ATTAF BY ALEXANDER J. COTHEAL . . .197

8. HISTORY OF PRINCE HABIB AND WHAT BEFEL HIM

WITH THE LADY DURRAT AL-GHAWWAS .... 223

5.

INDEX TO THE TALES AND PROPER NAMES . , v . 377

Contents.

&ppetrtrix HE.

ALPHABETICAL TABLE OF THE NOTES (ANTHROPOLOGICAL,

Ac.) 289

&ppentrfx

NOTES ON THE STORIES CONTAINED IN VOL. VI. OF

SUPPLEMENTAL NIGHTS. BY W. F. KIRBY . . .351

x IF.

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE

THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS. BY W. F. KIRBY . 356

THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE BOOK AND ITS REVIEWERS

REVIEWED 385

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS ......... 455

THE TRANSLATOR'S FOREWORD.

THIS volume has been entitled "THE NEW ARABIAN
NIGHTS," a name now hackneyed because applied to its
contents as far back as 1819 in Henry Weber's "Tales of
the East," (Edinburgh, Ballantyne).

The original MS. was brought to France by Al-Kahin Diyuni-
sius Shawi'sh, a Syrian priest of the Congregation of St. Basil,
whose name has been Frenchified to Don Dennis (or Denys)
Chavis. He was a student at the European College of Al-<Xadfs
Ithanasius (St. Athanasius) in Rumiyahthe Grand (Constantinople)
and was summoned by the Minister of State, Baron de Breteuil.
to Paris, where he presently became " Teacher of the Arabic
Tongue at the College of the Sultdn, King of Fransd in Barfs
(Paris) the Great." He undertook (probably to supply the loss of
Galland's ivth MS. volume) a continuation of The Nights (proper),
and wrote with his own hand the last two leaves of the third tome,
which ends with three instead of four couplets : thus he com-
pleted Kamar al-Zamdn (Night cclxxxi.-cccxxix.) and the follow*
ing tales :

The History of the Sleeper and the Waker (Nights cccxxx.-ccclxxix.).

The History of Warlock and the Cook (ccclxxx.-cd.)-

The History of the Prisoner in the Bima'rista'n or Madhouse (cd.-cdxxvii.).

The History of Ghanim the Thrall o' Love (cdxxviii.-cdlxxiv.).

The History of Zayn al-Asndm and the King of the Jdnn (cdlxxv.-cdxci.).

The History of Alaeddin (cdxcii.-dlxix.), and

The History of Ten Wazirs (dlxx.).

The copy breaks off at folio 320, r in the middle of Night dcxxxi.,
VOL. VI. B

ii Supplemental Nights.

and the date (given at the end of Night cdxxvii., folio 139) is
Shubat (February), A.D. 1787. This is the MS. numbered
Supplement Arabe, No. 1716.

In Paris, Dom Chavis forgathered with M. Cazotte, a litterateur
of the category " light," an ingtnieux ^crivain^ distinguished for
" gaiety, delicacy, wit and Attic elegance," and favorably known
for (inter alia) his poem " Olivier," his " Diable Amoureux,"
"The Lord Impromptu," and a travesty of The Nights 'called
"The Thousand and One Fopperies." The two agreed to
collaborate, the Syrian translating the Arabic into French,
and the Parisian metamorphosing the manner and matter to
" the style and taste of the day " ; that is to say, working up
an exaggerated imitation, a caricature, of Galland. The work
appeared, according to Mr. A. G. Ellis, of the British Museum, who
kindly sent me these notes, in Le Cabinet \ des F&s, f ou \ Collection
choisie \ des Contes des Fe*es y \ et autres contes merveilleux, \ ornh de
figures. | Tome trente-huitieme (quarante-unieme). \ A Geneve* \
chez Barde, Manget et Compagnie, \ Imprimeurs-Libraires. \ Et se
trouve a Paris \ Rue et Hdtel Serpente. \ 1788-89, 8 1 \ . The half-
title is Les Veillie'es Persanes, and' on the second title-page is Les
Veillie'es \ du \ Sultan Schahriar, avec \ la Sultane Scheherazade ; \
Histoires incroyables, amusantes, et morales , | traduites de I'Arabepar
M. Cazotte et \ D. Chavis. Faisant suite aux mille et une Nuits. \
Orne'es de 12 belles gravures. \ Tome premier (quatrieme) \ d
Geneve, \ chez Barde, Manget et Comp* \ 1793. This 8vo. 2 bears the
abridged title, La Suite des mille et une Nuits, Contes Arabes,
traduits par Dom Chavis et M. Cazotte. The work was printed
with illustrations at Geneva and in Paris, MDCCLXXXViii., and
formed the last four volumes (xxxviii.-xli.) of the great Recueil,
the Cabinet des Fe*es, published at Geneva from A.D. 1788 to 1793.

1 Tome xli - is <>atcil789, the other three, 1788, to include them in the " Cabinet. 1
3 The titles of all the vols. are dated alike, 1793, the actual date of printing.

The Translators Foreword. \\\

The following is a complete list of the histories, as it appears in
the English translation, lengthily entitled, " Arabian Tales ; | or, |
a Continuation | of the | Arabian Nights Entertainments. | Con-
sisting of | Stories | Related by the | Sultana of the Indies | to
divert her Husband from the Performance of a rash vow ; | Ex-
hibiting | A most interesting view of the Religion, Laws, |
Manners, Customs, Arts, and Literature | of the | Nations of the
East, | And | Affording a rich Fund of the most pleasing Amuse-
ment, | which fictitious writings can supply. | In Four Volumes |
newly translated from the original Arabic into French | By Dom
Chavis | a native Arab and M. Cazotte, Member | of the Academy
of Dijon. | And translated from the French into English | By
Robert Heron. | Edinburgh : | Printed for Bell and Bradfute,
J. Dickson, E. Balfour, | and P. Hill, Edinburgh ; | and G. G. J.
and J. Robinson, London | MDCCXCII."

1. The Robber-Caliph; or, adventures of Haroun-Alraschid, with the Princess

of Persia and the fair Zutulbe. 1

2. The Power of Destiny ; or, Story of the Journey of Giafar to Damascus,

comprehending the Adventures of Chebib (Habib) and his family.
3 The Story of Halechalb (All Chelebf) and the Unknown Lady ; or, the
Bimaristan.

4. The Idiot ; or, Story of Xailoun.*

5. The Adventures of Simustafa (= " Sf " for Sfdf " Mustafa ") and the Princess

Ilsatilsone (Lizzat al-Lustin = Delight of Tongues ?).

6. Adventures of Alibengiad, Sultan of Herat, and of the False Birds o

Paradise.

7. History of Sankarib and his two Viziers.

8. History of the Family of the Schebandad (Shah-bandar = Consul) of

Surat.

9. The Lover of the Stars : or, Abil Hasan's Story.

10. History of Captain Tranchemont and his Brave Companions : Debil

Hasen's Story.

11. The Dream of Valid Hasan.

1 This name is not in the Arabic text, and I have vainly puzzled my brains about its
derivation or meaning.

2 This P. N. is, I presume, a corruption of "Shawalan" one falling short. The
wife " Oitba " is evidently " Otb " or " UtfcL

iv Supplemental Nights.

12-23. Story of Bohetzad and his Ten Viziers (with eleven subsidiary tales).

24. Story of Habib and Dorathal-Goase (= Durrat al-Ghawwds the Pearl of the

Diver) ; or, the Arabian Knight.

25. Story of Illabousatrous (?) of Schal-Goase, and of Camarilzarr.an.

26. Story of the Lady of the Beautiful Tresses.

27. The History of Habib and Dorathal-Goase ; or, the Arabian Knight

continued.

28. History of Maugraby (Al-Maghrabi = the Moor) ; or, the Magician.

29. History of Halaiaddin ('Ala al-Din, Alaeddin, Aladdin), Prince of Persia.

30. History of Yemaladdin (Jamdl al-Din), Prince of Great Katay.

31. History of Baha-Ildur, Prince of Cinigae.

32. History of Badrildinn (Badr al-Dfn), Prince of Tartary.

33. History of the Amours of Maugraby with Auhata al-Kawakik (= Ukht al-

Kawakib, Sister of the Planets), daughter of the King of Egypt.

34. History of the Birth of Maugraby.

Of these thirty-four only five (MS. iv., vi., vii., xxvii. and xxxii.)
have not been found in the original Arabic.

Public opinion was highly favourable to the "Suite" when first
issued. Orientalism was at that time new to Europe, and the
general was startled by its novelties, e.g. by "Women wearing
drawers and trousers like their husbands, and men arrayed in loose
robes like their wives, yet at the same time cherishing, as so many
goats, each a venerable length of beard." (Heron's Preface.) They
found its "phaenomena so remote from the customs and manners
of Europe, that, when exhibited as entering into the ordinary
system of human affairs, they could not fail to confer a consider-
able share of amusive novelty on the characters and events with
which they were connected." (Ditto, Preface.) Jonathan Scott
roundly pronounced the continuation a forgery. Dr. Patrick
Russell (History of Aleppo, voL i. 385) had no good opinion of
it, and Caussin de Perceval (pre, vol. viii., p. 40-46) declared the
version Jloignte du gofit Orientate; yet he re-translated the tales
from the original Arabic (Continues, Paris, 1806), and in this he
was followed by Gauttier, while Southey borrowed the idea of his

1 See my Supplemental volume i. pp. 55-151, " The Ten Wazirs ; or, the History of
King Azadbakht and his Son."

The Translators Foreword.

" beautiful romance, Thalaba the Destroyer, now in Lethe from the
" History of Maughraby." Mr. A. G. Ellis considers these tales as
good as the old " Arabian Nights/' and my friend Mr. W. F. Kirby,
(Appendix to The Nights, vol. x. p. 476), quite agrees with him
that Chavis and Cazotte's Continuation is well worthy of republi-
cation in its entirety. It remained for the Edinburgh Review,
in one of those ignorant and scurrilous articles with which it
periodically outrages truth and good taste (No. 535, July, 1886),
to state, " Cazotte published his Suite des Mille et une Nuits, a
barefaced forgery, in 1785." A barefaced forgery! when the
original of twenty-eight tales out of thirty-four are perfectly well
known, and when sundry of these appear in MSS. of " The
Thousand Nights and 'a Night."

The following is a list of the Tales (widely differing from those
of Chavis and Cazotte) which appeared in the version of Caussin

de Perceval.

VOLUME VIII.

Les | Mille et une Nuits, \ Contes Arabes, | Traduits en Francais | Par
M. Galland, | Membre de 1' Academic des Inscriptions et | Belles-Lettres,
Professeur de Langue Arabe | au College Royal | Continues | Par M. Caussin
de Perceval, 1 Professeur de Langue Arabe au College Imperial. | Tome
huitieme. | a Paris, | chez Le Norman t, I mp.-Libraire, | Rue des Pretres Saint-
Germain-l'Auxerrois. J 1806.

1. Nouvelles aventures du calife Haroun Alraschid ; ou histoire de la petite

fille de Chosroes Anouschirvan.

(Gauttier, Histoire du Khalyfe de Baghdad : vol. vii. 1 17.)

2. Le Bimaristan, ou histoire du jeune Marchand de Bagdad et de la dame

inconnue.

3. Le me*de*cin et le jeune traiteur de Bagdad.

4. Histoire du Sage Hicar.

(Gauttier, Histoire du Sage Heycar, vii. 313).

5. Histoire du roi Azadbakht, ou des dix Visirs.

6.

7-
8.

9-
10.
n.

12.

marchand devenu malheureux.

imprudent et de ses deux enfants.
d' Abousaber, ou de 1'homme patient,
du prince Behezad.

roi Dadbin, ou de la vertueuse Aroua.

Bakhtzeman.

Khadidan.

vi Supplemental Nights.

13. Histoire du roi Beherkerd.

14. ,, Ilanschah et d'Abouteman.

15. ,, Ibrahim et de son fils.
1 6. Soleiman-schah.

1 7. de 1'esclave sauve* du supplice.

VOLUME IX.

1 8. Attaf ou 1'homme

(Gauttier, Histoire de 1'habitant de Damas ; vii. 234.)

19. Histoire du Prince Habib et de Dorrat Algoase.

20. roi Sapor, souverain des ties Bellour ; de Camar Alzemann,
fille du gdnie Alatrous, et Dorrat Algoase.

(Gauttier, vii. 64.)
21 Histoire de Naama et de Naam.

22. d'Alaeddin.

23. d'Abou Mohammed Alkeslan.

24. d'Aly Mohammed le joaillier, ou du faux calife.

I need hardly offer any observations upon these tales, as they
have been discussed in the preceding pages.

By an error of the late M. Reinaud (for which see p. 39 Histoire
d' 'Ala al-Din by M. H. Zotenberg, Paris, Imprimerie Nationale,
MDCCCLXXXVIII,) the MS. Supplement Arabe, No. 1716, in the
writing of Dom Chavis has been confounded with No. 1723, which
is not written by the Syrian priest but which contains the originals
of the Cazotte Continuation as noted by M. C. de Perceval (Les
Mille et une Nuits, etc., vol. viii. PreT. p. 17, et seqq.).
It is labelled Histoires tiroes la plupart des Mille et une
Nuits | Supplement Arabe \ Volume de 742 pages. The thick
quarto measures centimetres 2oJ long by 16 wide ; the binding
is apparently Italian and the paper is European, but the filegrane
or water-mark, which is of three varieties, a coronet, a lozenge-
shaped bunch of circles and a nondescript, may be Venetian or
French. It contains 765 pages, paginated after European fashion,
but the last eleven leaves are left blank reducing the number
written to 742 ; and the terminal note, containing the date, is on
the last leaf. Each page numbers 15 lines and each leaf has its
catchword (mot de rappel). It is not ordered by " karras " or

The Translator } s Foreword,

vii

quires ; but is written upon 48 sets of 4 double leaves. The text
is in a fair Syrian hand, but not so flowing as that of No. 1716,
by Shaw/sh himself, which the well-known Arabist, Baron de
Slane, described as Bonne ecriture orientate de la fin du X VIII*
Siecle. The colophon conceals or omits the name of the scribe,
but records the dates of incept Kamin II d . (the Syrian winter-
month January) A.D. 1772 ; and of conclusion Naysan (April) of
the same year. It has head-lines disposed rectq and verso, e.g~. $

Haykar AI-Hakfm,

and parentheses in the text after European fashion with an
imperfect list at the beginning. A complete index is furnished
at the end. The following are the order and pagination of the
fourteen stones :

1. The King of Persia and his Ten Wazirs . pp. i to 63-

2. Say of the Sage Haykar . . . . 140

3. History of King Sabur and the Three Wise

Men 183

4. The Daughter of Kisra the King (Al Bundu-

kani) 217

5. The Caliph and the Three Kalandars . . 266

6. Julndr the Sea-born 396

7. The Duenna, the Linguist-dame and the-

King's Son 476

8. The Tale of the Warlock and the young Cook

of Baghdad SS

9. The Man in the Bfmaristan or Madhouse . 538

10. The Tale of AttaT the Syrian . . $88

11. The History of Sultan Habfb and Durrat

al-Ghawwas 628

12. The Caliph and the Fisherman ... 686

13. The Cock and the Fox ^ . 7*8

14. The Fowl-let and the Fowler' . . . 7^5 to 739 (finis)

Upon these tales I would be permitted to offer a few observa-
tions. No. I. begins with a Christian formula : " In the name of
the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost " (Ruhu'l-Kudus) ;
and it is not translated, because it is a mere replica of the Ten

viii Supplemental Nights.

Wazirs (Suppl. vol. i. 55-151). The second, containing "The
Sage Haykar," which is famous in folk-lore throughout the East,
begins with the orthodox Moslem " Bismillah," etc. " King
Sapor is prefaced by a Christian form which to the Trinitarian
formula adds, " Allah being One " : this, again, is not translated,
because it repeats the " Ebony Horse " (vol. v, i). No. iv., which
opens with the Bismillah, is found in the Sabbagh MS. of The
Nights (see Suppl. vol. iii.) as the Histoire de Haroun al-Raschid
et de la descendante de Ckosroes. Albondoqani (Nights Ixx.-lxxvii.).
No. v., which also has the Moslem invocation, is followed by
the " Caliph and the Three Kalandars," where, after the fashion of
this our MS., the episodes (vol. i., 104-1 30), are taken bodily from
" The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad " (i. 82), and are con-
verted into a separate History. No. vi. has no title to be trans*
lated, being a replica of the long sea-tale" in vol. vii., 264. Nos.
vii., viii., ix., x. and xi. lack initiatory invocation betraying
Christian or Moslem provenance. No. viii. is the History of
Sf Mustafa and of Shaykh Shahdb al-Dfn in the Turkish Tales :
it also occurs in the Sabbagh MS. (Nights ccclxxxvi.-cdviii). The
Bfmaristan (No. ix.), alias Ali Chalabi (Halechalbe*), has already
appeared in my Suppl. vol. iv. 49. No. xii., " The Caliph and the
Fisherman, " makes Harun al-Rashid the hero of the tale in " The
Fisherman and the Jinni " (vol. i. 38) ; it calls the ensorcelled
King of the Black Islands Mahmud, and his witch of a wife Sitt
al-Mulvik, and it also introduces into the Court of the Great
Caliph Hasan Shumdn and Ahmad al-Danaf, the prominent
personages in "The Rogueries of DaHlah" (vol. vii. 144) and its
sister tale (vii. 172). The two last Histbries, which are ingenious
enough, also lack initial formulae.

Dr. Russell (the historian of Aleppo) brought back with him a
miscellaneous collection comprising

Al-Bundukani, or the Robber Caliph ;
The Power of Destiny (Attaf the Syrian) ;

The Translator's Foreword. ix

Ali Chelebi, or the Bimaristan ;
King Sankharib and the Sage Haykar ;
Bohetzad (Azddbakht) and the Ten Wazirs ; and, lastly,
Habib, or the Arabian Knight.

The Encyclopedia Britannica (ixth edit, of MDCCCLXXVl), which
omits the name of Professor Galland, one -of the marking Orien-
talists in his own day, has not ignored Jacques Cazotte, remarkable
for chequered life and noble death. Born in 1720, at Dijon, where
his father was Chancellor for the Province of Burgundy, he studied
with the Jesuits at home; and, having passed through the finishing
process in Paris, he was introduced to public life by the Adminis-
tration de la Marine. He showed early taste for poetry as well as
prose, and composed songs, tales, and an opera the " Thousand
and one Fopperies." His physique is described as a tall figure,
with regular features, expressive blue eyes, and fine hair, which he
wore long. At twenty-seven he became a commissary in the office
and was presently sent as Comptroller to the Windward Islands,
including the French Colony Martinique, which then as flow
was famous for successful woman-kind. At these head quarters, he
became intimate with Pere Lavalette, Superior of the S. J. Mission,
and he passed some years of a pleasant and not unintellectual
career. Returning to Paris on leave of absence he fell in with a
country-woman and an old family friend, Madame La Poissonnier,
who had been appointed head nurse to the Duke of Burgundy ;
and, as the child in her charge required lulling to sleep, Cazotte
composed the favourite romances (ballads) , Tout au beau milieu
des Ardennes , and Commere II faut chauffer le lit. These scherzi,
however, brought him more note than profit, and soon afterwards
he returned to Martinique.

During his second term of service Cazotte wrote his heroic-comic
poem, the Roman d'Olivier, in twelve cantos, afterwards printed
in Paris (2 vols. 8vo, 1765) ; and it was held a novel and singular
composition. When the English first attacked (in 1759) Saint

x Supplemental Nights.

Pierre of Martinique, afterwards captured by Rodney in 1762, the
sprightly litterateur showed abundant courage and conduct, but
over-exertion injured his health, and he was again driven from his
post by sickness. He learned, on landing in France, that his
brother, whilome Vicar-General to M. de Choiseul, Bishop of
Chalons-sur-Marne, had died and left him a fair estate, Pierry,
near Epernay ; he therefore resigned his appointment and retired
with the title " Commissary-General to the Marine." But presently
he lost 50,000 e*cus the whole fruit of his economies by the specu-r
latidns of Pere Lavalette to whose hands he had entrusted his estates,
negroes, and effects at Martinique. These had been sold and the
cheques had been forwarded to the owner : the S. J., however,
refused to honour them. Hence the scandal of a law-suit in which
Cazotte showed much delicacy and regard for the feelings of his
former tutors.

Meanwhile Cazotte had married Elizabeth Roignon, daughter
to the Chief Justice of Martinique ; he returned to the Parisian world
with some e'clat and he became an universal favourite on account
of his happy wit and humour, his bonhomie, his perfect frankness,
and his hearty amiability. The vogue of " Olivier " induced him to
follow it up with Le Diable Amoureux, a continuation or rather
parody of Voltaire's Guerre civile de Geneve : this work was so
skilfully carried out that it completely deceived the world ; and it
was followed by sundry minor pieces which were greedily read.
Unlike the esprits forts of his age, he became after a gay youth-
tide an ardent Christian ; he made the Gospel his rule of life ;
and he sturdily defended his religious opinions ; he had also the
moral courage to enter the lists with M. de Voltaire, then the idol-
in-chief of the classes and the masses.

In later life Cazotte met Dom Chavis, who was translating into a
curious jargon (Arabo-Franco-Italian) certain Oriental tales ; and,
although he was nearing the Psalmist's age-term of man, he
agreed to " collaborate." The Frenchman used to take the pen

The Translator's Foreword. xi

at midnight when returning from " social pleasures/' and work till
4-5 a.m. As he had prodigious facility and spontaneity he finished
his part of the task in two winters. Some of the tales in the suite,
especially that of " Maugraby," are attributed wholly to his inven-
tion ; and, as a rule, his aim and object were to diffuse his spiritual
ideas and to write treatises on moral perfection under the form of
novelle.

Cazotte, after a well-spent and honourable life, had reason to
expect with calmness " the evening and ending of a fine day."
But this was not to be, the Great Revolution had burst like a hurri-
cane over the land, and he was doomed to die a hero's death. His
character was too candid, and his disposition too honest, for times
which suggested concealment. He had become one of the Illumi-
nati, and La Harpe ascribed to him the celebrated prophecy which
described the minutest events of the Great Revolution. A Royalist
pur sang, he freely expressed his sentiments to his old friend Ponteau,
then Secretary of the Civil List. His letters came to light shortly
after the terrible day, August 10, 1792 : he was summarily arrested
at Pierry and brought to Paris, where he was thrown into prison.
On Sept. 3, when violence again waxed rampant, he was attacked
by the patriot-assassins, and was saved only by the devotion of his
daughter Elizabeth, who threw herself upon the old man crying,
" You shall not reach my father's heart before piercing mine.'*
The courage of the noble pair commanded the admiration of the
ruffians, and they were carried home in triumph.

For a few weeks the family remained unmolested, but in those
days " Providence " slept and Fortune did not favour the brave.
The Municipality presently decreed a second arrest, and the vener-
able litterateur, aged seventy-two, was sent before the revolutionary
tribunal appointed to deal with the pretended offences of August
IO. He was subjected to an interrogatory of thirty-six hours,
during which his serenity and presence of mind never abandoned
him and impressed even his accusers. But he was condemned to

xii Supplemental Nights.

die for the all-sufficient reason : " It is not enough to be a good
son, a good husband, a good father, one must also prove oneself a
good citizen/' He spent his last hours with his confessor, wrote
to his wife and children, praying his family not to beweep
him, not to forget him, and never to offend against their God ; and
this missive, with a lock of his hair for his beloved daughter, he
finally entrusted to the ghostly father. Upon the scaffold he
turned to the crowd and cried, " I die as I have lived, truthful and
faithful to my God and my King." His venerable head, crowned
with the white honours of age, fell on Sept. 25, 1792.

Gazette printed many works, some of great length, as the
(Euvres Morales, which filled 7 vols. 8vo. in the complete edition of
1817 ; and the biographers give a long list of publications, besides
those above-mentioned, romantic, ethical, and spiritual, in verse and
in prose. But he wrote mainly for his own pleasure, he never
sought fame, and consequently his reputation never equalled his
merit. His name, however, still smells sweet, passing sweet,
amid the corruption and the frantic fury of his day and the memory
of the witty, genial, and virtuous litterateur still blossoms in the
dust,

During my visit to Paris in early 1887, M. Hermann Zotenberg
was kind enough to show me the MS., No. 1723, containing
the original tales of the " New Arabian Nights." As my health
did not allow me sufficient length of stay to complete my transla-
tion, Professor Houdas (for whom, see Appendix, p. 10, Suppl.
vol. iii.) kindly consented to copy the excerpts required, and to
explain the words and phrases which a deficiency of dictionaries
and vocabularies at an outlandish port-town rendered unintelligible
to me.

In translating a MS., which has never been collated or corrected
and which abounds in errors of omission and commission, I have
been guided by one consideration only, which is, that my first and
chiefest duty to the reader is to make my book readable at the

The Translator's Foreword.

Xlll

same time that it lays before him the whole matter which the text
offered or ought to have offered. Hence I have not hesitated
when necessary to change the order of the sentences, to delete
tautological words and phrases, to suppress descriptions which are
needlessly re-iterated, and in places to supply the connecting links
without which the chain of narrative is weakened or broken.
These are liberties which must be allowed, unless the translator's
object be to produce a, mutilated version of a mutilation.

Here also I must express my cordial gratitude to Mr. Alexander
j. Cotheal, Consul-General for Nicaragua, in New York. This
distinguished Arabist not only sent to me across the seas his
MS. containing, inter alia, " The Tale of Attaf," he also undertook
to translate it for my collection upon my distinct assurance that its
many novelties of treatment deserved an especial version. Mr.
W. F, Kirby has again conferred upon my readers an important
service by his storiological notes. Lastly, Dr. Steingass has
lent me, as before, his valuable aid in concluding as be did in
commencing this series, and on putting the colophon to

Folume

OP

THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT.

RICHARD F. BURTON.

UNITED SERVICE CLUB,
August ist, 1888.

I INSCRIBE THIS FINAL VOLUME
TO

THE MANY EXCELLENT FRIENDS

WHO LENT ME THEIR VALUABLE AID IN COPYING AND ANNOTATING

SEfjousanto jaifits an* a

THE SAY OF HAYKAR THE SAGE.

THE SAY OF HAYKAR THE SAGE. lf

tf)e nnme of &llaf), tfje OTompasstonattng, tfje Compassionate,
tf)e Eternal <&ne, tjje termless, t!je timeless, anfc of |^im afoance
foe afoaft. gnir jere foe begin (fottfi tjje assistance of
antr f^is fair furtherance) to incite tfie &torp of f^agfear fte
tje $f)i!osopf)er, tfie OTa^'r of gbanfejjarib 2 tfte Sbobran, ana of tfie
son of t&e fofse man's sister Jiafcan 3 tfie Jpool

THEY relate that during the days of SankhdHb the King, lord
of Astir 4 and Naynawah 5 there was a Sage 3 Haykdr hight, Grand
Wazir of that Sovran and his chief secretary, and he was a
grandee of abundant opulence and ampliest livelihood : ware was

1 MS. pp. 140-182. Gauttier, vol. ii., pp. 313-353, Histoire du sage Heycar trans-
lated by M. Agoub: Weber, " History of Sinkarib and his two Viziers" (vol. ii. 53):
the " Vizier " is therein called Hicar.

2 This form of the P. N. is preferred by Prof. R. Hoerning in his " Prisma des
Sanherib," etc. Leipsic, 1878. The etymology is "Sin akhi-irib" = Sini (Lunus,
or the Moon -God) increaseth brethren. The canon of Ptolemy fixes his acces-
sion at B.C. 702, the first year of Elibus or Belibus. For his victories over Babylonia,
Palestine, Judaea, and Egypt see any " Dictionary of the Bible," and Byron for the
marvellous and puerile legend

The Assyrian came down as a wolf on the fold,

which made him lose in one night 185,000 men, smitten by the " Angel of the Lord '*
(2 Kings xix. 35). Seated upon his throne before Lachish he is represented by a bas-
relief as a truly noble and kingly figure.

3 I presume that the author hereby means a "fool," Pers. na"da"n. But in Assyrian)
story Nadan was = Nathan, King of the people of Pukudu, the Pekod of Jeremiah (i. 21}
and other prophets.

4 In text always {{ Atur," the scriptural " Asshur " = Assyria, biblically derived
from Asshur, son of Shem (Gen. x. 22), who was worshipped as the proto-deity. The
capital was Niniveh. Weber has "Nineveh and Thor," showing the spelling of his
MS. According to the Arabs, "Ashur" had four sons; Iran (father of the Furs =
Persians, the Kurd, or Ghozzi, the Daylams, and the Khazar), Nabit, Jarmuk, and
Basil. Ibn Khaldun (iii. 413), in his " Universal History," opposes this opinion of Ibn
Sa'id.

6 i.e. "Fish-town" or "town of Nin" = Ninus, the founder. In mod. days " Nay-
nawah " was the name of a port on the east bank of the Tigris j and moderns have
unearthed the old city at Koyunjik, Nabi Yunas, and the Tall (mound of) Nimrud.

4 Supplemental Nights.

he and wise, a philosopher, and endowed with lore and rede and
experience. Now he had interwedded with threescore wives, for
each and every of which he had builded in his palace her own
bower ; natheless he had not a boy to tend, and was he sore of
sorrow therefor. So one day he gathered together the experts,
astrologers and wizards, and related to them his case and com-
plained of the condition caused by his barrenness. They made
answer to him, " Get thee within and do sacrifice to the Godheads
and enquire of them and implore their favour when haply shall
they vouchsafe unto thee boon of babe." He did whatso they bade
and set corbans and victims before the images and craved their
assistance, humbling himself with prayer and petition ; withal they
vouchsafed to him never a word of reply. So he fared forth in
distress and disappointment and went his ways all disheartened.
Then he returned in his humiliation to Almighty Allah 1 and
confided his secret unto Him and called for succour in the burning
of his heart, and cried with a loud voice saying " O God of
Heaven and Earth, O Creator of all creatures, I beg Thee to
vouchsafe unto me a son wherewith I may console my old age and
who may become my heir, after being present at my death and
closing my eyes and burying my body." Hereat came a Voice
from Heaven which said, " Inasmuch as at first thou trustedst in
graven images and offeredst to them victims, so shalt thou remain
childless, lacking sons and daughters. However, get thee up and
take to thee Naddn, thy sister's child ; and, after taking this nephew
to son, do thou inform him with thy learning and thy good breeding
and thy sagesse, and demise to him that he inherit of thee after
thy decease/' Hereupon the Sage adopted his nephew Nadan,
who was then young in years and a suckling, that he might teach
him and train him ; so he entrusted him to eight wet-nurses and

1 The surroundings, suggest Jehovah, the tribal deity of the Jews. The old version
says, " Hicar was a native of the country of Haram (Harrdn), and had brought from
thence the knowledge of the true God ; impelled, however, by an irresistible decree, etc*

The Say of Haykat the Sage.

5

dry-nurses for feeding and rearing, and they brought him up on
diet the choicest with delicatest nurture and clothed him with
sendal and escarlate 1 and dresses dyed with Alkermes, 2 and his
sitting was upon shag-piled rugs of silk. But when Nadan grew
great and walked and shot up even as the lofty Cedar 3 of Lebanon,
his uncle taught him deportment and writing and reading 4 and
philosophy and the omne scibile. Now after a few days Sankharib
the King looked upon Haykar and saw how that he had waxed
an old old man, so quoth he to him, " Ho thou excellent com-
panion, 5 the generous, the ingenious, the judicious, the sagacious,
the Sage, my Secretary and my Minister and the Concealer of my
secrets and the Councillor of my kingdom, seeing how so it be
that thou art aged and well shotten in years and nigh unto thy
death and decease, so tell me 6 who shall stand in my service
after thy demise ? " Made answer Haykar, " O my lord the King,

1 i.e. a woollen cloth dyed red. Hence Pyrard (i. 244) has " red scarlet," and (vol. ii.)
' violet scarlet"; Froissart (xvth centy.) has "white scarlet," and Marot (xvith) has
" green scarlet." The word seems to be French of xiith century, but is uncertain :
Littre proposes Galaticus, but admits the want of an intermediate form. Piers
Plowman, and Chaucer use " cillatun," which suggests Pers. " Sakalat," or " Sakla-
tun," whence Mr. Skeat would derive "scarlet." This note is from the voyage of
F. Pyrard, etc. London. Hakluyts, M.dccc.lxxxvii. ; and the editor quotes Colonel
Yule's M. Polo (ii. chapt. 58) and his " Discursive Glossary s. v. Sucl&t?'

2 i.e. " Al-Kirm," Arab, and Pers. = a worm, as in Kirmsin (see Supplem. vol. i.
59) ; the coccus ilids y vulg. called cochineal.

8 Arab. '< Arz," from the Heb. Arz or Razah (/ raz = to vibrate), the rootKe'S/oos
(cedrus conifera], the Assyrian " Erimu of Lebanon," of which mention is so often
made. The old controversy as to whether " Razah " = cedar or fir, might easily have
been settled if the disputants had known that the modern Syrians still preserve the word
for the clump called " The Cedars " on the seaward slope of the Libanus.

4 We should say < reading and writing," but the greater difficulty of deciphering the
skeleton eastern characters places reading in the more honourable place. They say of a
very learned man, " He readethi it off (readily) as one drinketh water."

5 Arab. "Al-Sahib al-jayyid." ["Jayyid" is, by the measure "Fay'il," derived
from the root "Jaud," to excel, like " Kayyis, from"Kaus" (see Suppl vol. iv.,
p. 350), " Mayyit " from " Maut," " Sayyid " from " Saud." The form was originally
Jaywid ;" then the Waw became assimilated to the preceding Jd, on account of the
following Kasrah, and this assimilation or " Idgham " is indicated by Tashdid. As from
41 Kayyis" the diminutive- "Kuwayyis" is formed, so "Jayyid" forms the Tasghfr,
Juwayyid," which, amongst the Druzes, has the specific meaning of " deeply versed in
religious matters." ST.]

" Kul," vulg. for " Kul" ; a form constant in this MS.

6 Supplemental Nights

may thy head live for ever and aye ! that same shall be this
Nadan, son to my sister, whom I have taken to myself as mine own
child and have reared him and have taught him my learning and
my experience, all thereof." " Bring him to the presence," quoth
the King, " and set him between my hands, that I look upon him ;
and, if I find him fitting, I will stablish him in thy stead. Then
do thou wend thy ways and off-go from office that thou take thy
rest and tend thine old age, living the lave of thy life in the fairest
of honour." Hereupon Haykar hied him home and carried his
nephew Nadan before the King, who considered him and was
pleased with the higlimost of pleasure and, rejoicing in him,
presently asked the uncle, " Be this thine adopted son, O
Haykar ? I pray Allah preserve him ; and, even as thou
servedst my sire Sarhadun 1 before me, even so shall this thy
son do me suite and service and fulfil my affairs and my
needs and my works, to the end that I may honour him and
advance him for the sake of thee." Thereat Haykar prostrated
himself before the presence and said, " May thy head live, O my
lord, for evermore ! I desire of thee to extend the wings of thy
spirit over him for that he is my son, and do thou be clement to
his errings, so that he may serve thee as besitteth." The King
forthwith made oath that he would stablish the youth amongst
the highmost of his friends and the most worshipful of his
familiars and that he should abide with him in all respect
and reverence. So Haykar kissed the royal hands and blessed his
lord ; then, taking with him Nadan his nephew, he seated him in
privacy and fell to teaching him by night as well as by day, that
he might fill him with wisdom and learning rather than with meat

1 Gauttier "Sarkhadom," the great usurper Sargon, a contemporary of Merodach
Baladan of Babylon and of Sabaco 1st of Ethiopia, B.C. 721-702 : one of the greatest
Assyrian Kings, whose place has been determined to be between Shalmaneser and his
son, the celebrated Sennacherib, who succeeded him. The name also resembles the
biblical Ezar-haddon (Asaridanus), who, however, was the son of Sennacherib, and
occupied the throne of Babylon in B.C. 680.

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 7

and drink ; and he would address him in these terms. 1 " O dear
my son, 2 if a word come to thine ears, suffer it to die within thy~
heart nor ever disclose it unto other, lest haply it become a live
coal 3 to burn up thy tongue and breed pain in thy body and clothe
thee in shame and gar thee despised of God and man. O dear my
son, an thou hear a report reveal it not, and if thou behold a thing
relate it not. O dear my son, make easy thine address unto thine
hearers, and be not hasty in return of reply. O dear my son, desire
not formal beauty which fadeth and vadeth while fair report
endureth unto infinity. O dear my son, be not deceived by a
woman immodest of speech lest her snares waylay thee 4 and in
her springes thou become a prey and thou die by ignominious
death. O dear my son, hanker not after a woman adulterated by
art, such as clothes and cosmetics, who is of nature bold and
immodest, and beware lest thou obey her and give her aught that
is not thine and entrust to her even that which is in thy hand, for
she will robe thee in sin and Allah shall become wroth with thee.
O dear my son, be not like unto the almond-tree 5 which leafeth
earlier than every growth and withal is ever of the latest to fruit ;
but strive to resemble the mulberry-tree which beareth food the
first of all growths and is the last of any to put forth her foliage. 6

1 Gauttier, pp. 317-319, has greatly amplified and modified these words of wisdom.

2 In text " Ya Bunayya " = lit. " O my little son," a term of special fondness.

3 Arab. 4 f Jamrah," a word of doubtful origin, but applied to a tribe strong enough to
be self-dependent. The "Jamarat of the Arabs" were three, Banii Numayr, Banu
Haris (who afterwards confederated with Mashfj) and Banii Dabbah (who joined the
Rikab), and at last Nomayr remained alone. Hence they said of it :

"Nomayr the jamrah (also "a live coal") of Arabs are; * And ne'er cease they to,

burn in 'fiery war."
See Chenery's Al-Hariri, pp. 343-428.

4 In the Arab. <l Ta'arkalak," which M. Houdas renders " qu'elle nt U reiienne dans

5 A lieu commun in the East. It is the Heb. " Shaked " and the fruit is the " Loz "
(Arab. Lauz) = Atnygdalus communis* which the Jews looked upon as the harbinger of
spring and which, at certain feasts, they still carry to the synagogue, as representing the
palm branches of the Temple.

6 The mulberry-tree in Italy will bear leaves till the end of October and the foliage
is bright as any spring verdure.

8 Supplemental Nights.

O dear my son, bow thy head before thine inferior and soften
thine utterance and be courteous and tread in the paths of piety,
and shun impudence and louden not thy voice whenas thou
speakest or laughest ; for, were a house to be builded by volume of
sound, the ass would edify many a mansion every day. 1 O dear
my son, the transport of stones with a man of wisdom is better
than the drinking of wine with one blamed for folly. O dear my
son, rather pour out thy wine upon the tombs of the pious than
drain it with those who give offence by their insolence. O dear my
son, cleave to the sage that is Allah-fearing and strive to resemble
him, and approach not the fool lest thou become like unto him
and learn his foolish ways. O dear my son, whenas thou affectest
a friend or a familiar, make trial of him and then company with him,
and without such test nor praise him nor divulge thy thoughts unto
one who is other than wise. O dear my son, as long as thy boot is
upon thy leg and foot, walk therewith over the thorns and tread a
way for thy sons and thy sons' sons ; and build thee a boat ere the
sea break into billows and breakers and drown thee before thou
find an ark of safety. O dear my son, when the richard eateth a
snake, folks shall say that 'tis of his subtilty ; but when a pauper
feedeth upon it, the world shall declare 'tis of his poverty. O dear
my son, be content with thy grade and thy good, nor covet aught
of thy fellow. O dear my son, be not neighbourly with the ignorant
nor do thou break with him bread, and joy not in the annoy of
those about thee and when thy foe shall maltreat thee meet him
with beneficence. O dear my son, fear the man who feareth not
Allah and hold him in hate. O dear my son, the fool shall fall
when he trippeth ; but the wise man when he stumbleth shall not
tumble, and if he come to the ground he shall rise up quickly, and
when he sickeneth he shall readily heal himself, whereas to the
malady of the ignorant and the stupid there is no remedy. O dear

1 Gauttier omits this: fas pott, I suppose.

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 9

my son, when a man lesser than thyself shall accost thee, prevent him
in standing respectfully before him, and if he suffice thee not the
Lord shall suffice thee in his stead. O dear my son, spare not blows
to thy child, 1 for the beating of the boy is like manuring to the
garden and binding to the purse-mouth and tethering to the cattle
and locking to the door. O dear my son, withhold thy child from
wickedness, and discipline him ere he wax great and become con-
tumacious to thee, thus belittling thee amongst thine equals and
lowering thy head upon the highways and in the assemblies, and
thou be described as an aider in his wrongous works. O dear
my son, let no word escape thy lips without consulting thy heart ;
nor stand up between two adversaries, for out of converse with the
wicked cometh enmity, and from enmity is bred battle, and from
battle ariseth slaughter, when thy testimony shall be required ;
nay, do thou fly therefrom and be at rest. O dear my son, stand
not up against one stronger than thyself; but possess thy soul
in patience and long-suffering and forbearance and pacing the
paths of piety, for than this naught is more excellent. O dear my
son, exult not over the death of thy enemy by cause that after a
little while thou shalt become his neighbour. O dear my son, turn
thou a deaf ear to whoso jeereth thee, and honour him and forego
him with the salam-salutation. O dear my son, whenas the water
shall stand still in stream and the bird shall fly sky-high and the
black raven shall whiten and myrrh shall wax honey-sweet, then
will the ignorant and the fool comprehend and converse. O dear

1 The barbarous sentiment is Biblical inspired, "Me that spareth Ills rod hateth his
son " (Prov. xiii. 24), and " Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul
spare for his crying" (Prov. xix. 18). Compare the Arab equivalent, " The green stick
is of the trees of Paradise " (Pilgrimage i. 151). But the neater form of the saw was left
to uninspired writers j witness "Spare the rod and spoil the child," which appears in
Ray's proverbs, and is immortalised by Hudibras :
Love is a boy by poets styled,
Then spare the rod and spoil the child, (ii. I, 843).

It is to the eternal credit of John Locke, the philosopher, that in an age of general
brutality he had the moral courage, to declare, " Beating is the worst and therefore the
last means to be used in the correction of children."

1 Supplemental Nights.

my son, an thou would be wise restrain thy tongue from leasing
and thy hand from thieving and thine eyes from evil glancing ;
and then, and then only, shalt thou be called a sage. O dear my
son, suffer the wise man strike thee with his staff rather than the
fool anoint thee with his sweetest unguent. 1 O dear my son, be thou
humble in thy years of youth, that thou may be honoured in thine
old age. O dear my son, stand not up against a man in office and
puissance nor against a river in its violence, and haste not in matters
of marriage ; for, an this bring weal, folk will not appraise thee and
if ill they will abuse thee and curse thee. O dear my son, company
with one who hath his hand fulfilled and well-furnishtand associate
not with any whose hand is fist-like and famisht. O dear my son,
there be four things without stability : a king and no army, 2 a
Wazir in difficulty for lack of rede ; amongst the folks villany and
over the lieges tyranny. Four things also may not be hidden ; to
wit, the sage and the fool, the richard and the pauper." 3 Now when
Haykar had made an end of these injunctions and instances addrest
to Nadan his nephew, he fondly deemed in mind that the youth
would bear in memory all his charges, and he wist not that the
clean contrary thereof to him would become manifest After this
the older Minister sat in peace at home and committed to the
younger all his moneys and his negro slaves and his concubines ;
his horses and camels, his flocks and herds, and all other such
whereof he was seised. Also bidding and forbiddal were left in the
youth's hand and he was promoted and preferred by the monarch

1 Arab. "Dahn" (oi! 4 ointment) which may also mean "soft sawder."

2 Aucun rot ne pent gouverner sans armce et on ne peut avoir une armle sans argent.,
For a treatise on this subject see the " Chronique de Tabari," ii. 340.

3 M. Agoub, in Gauttier (vi. 321) remarks of these prosings, "Ces maximes qui ne
seraient pas indignes, pour la plupart, des beaux temps de la philosophic grecque, appar-
tiennent toutes au texte arabe ; je n'ai fait que les disposer dans un ordre plus raethodique.
J'ai dti aussi supprimer quelques unes, soil parce qu'elles n'offraient que des preceptes
<Tune morale banale, soit que traduites eji fra^ais, elles eussen: pu paraftre bizarres a des
lecteurs europeens. Ce que je dis ici, s* applique egalement a eel les qui terminent it-
conte et qui pourraient fournir le sujet de plusieurs fables." One would say that the
translator is the author's natural enemy.

The Say of Haykar the Sage. \ i

like his maternal uncle and even more, whilst the ex-Wazir took
his rest in retirement, nor was it his habit to visit the King save
once after a while, when he would fare forth to salute him with the
salam and forthwith return home. But when Nadan made sure of
all commandment being in his own hand, he jeered in public at his
uncle and raised his nose at him and fell to blaming him whenever
he made act of presence and would say, " Verily Haykar is in age
and dotage and no more he wotteth one thing from other thing."
Furthermore he fell to beating th? negro slaves and the hand-
maidens, and to vending the steeds and dromedaries and applied
him wilfully to waste all that appertained to his uncle who, when
he saw this lack of ruth for the chattels and the household, incon-
tinently drove him ignominiously from his place. Moreover he sent
to apprize the King thereof; to wit, that he would assuredly 1
resume all his belongings and provision ; and his liege, summoning
Nadan, said to him, " So long as Haykar shall be in life, let none
lord it over his household or meddle with his fortune." On this
wise the youth's hand was stayed from his uncle and from all his
good and he ceased to go in to him and come out from him, and
even to accost him with the salam. Presently Haykar repented of
the pains and the trouble he had taken with Nadan and he became
perplext exceedingly. Now the youth had a younger brother,
Naudan 2 hight, so Haykar adopted him in lieu of the other and
tendered him and honoured him with highmost honour and com-
mitted to him all his possessions and created him comptroller of his
household and of his affairs. But when the elder brother beheld
what had betided him, he was seized with envy and jealousy and
he fell to complaining before all who questioned him, deriding his
benefactor ; and he would say, " Verily my maternal uncle hath

1 Arab. " Amnial," now vulgarly written with initial Hamzah, a favourite expression
in Egypt and meaning ' Verily," " I believe you, my boy," and so forth. But " 'Ammal ''
with the Ayn may also mean " he intended," or " he was about to."

2 In Gauttier the name is Ebnazadan, but the Arab, text has " Naudan," which I take
to be the Persian * New of knowledge " as opp. to Nadan, the " unknowing."

12 Supplemental Nights.

driven me from his doors and hath preferred my brother before me ;
but, an Almighty Allah empower me, I will indeed cast him into
doom of death." Hereat he fell to brooding over the ruin of his
relative, and after a long while he went, one day of the days, and
wrote a letter to Akhyash Abna Shah, 1 physician to the King of
Persia and ' Ajam or Barbaria-land, and the following were its con-
tents. " All salams that befit and greetings that are meet from part
of Sankharib, King of Assyria and Niniveh, and from his Wazir
and Secretary Haykar unto thee, O glorious monarch, and saluta-
tions be betwixt me and thee. And forthright, when this missive
shall have reached thee, do thou arise in haste and come to meet
me and let our trysting-place be the Buk'at Nisrin, the lowland of
the Eglantine 2 of Assyria and Niniveh, that I may commit to
thee the kingdom sans fight or fray." Furthermore he wrote a
second letter in Haykar's name to Pharaoh, 3 lord of Misraim,*
with this purport : 5 " Greetings between me and thee, O mighty

1 In Chavis (Weber ii. 58) and Gauttier (p. 323) Akis, roide Perse. The second name
maybe "Shah of the Ebna" or Persian incolae of Al-Yaman ; aristocratie Persane
naturalist Arabe (Al-Mas'udi, iv. 188, etc.)

2 i.e. the Lowland of the Eglantine or Narcissus ; Nisrin is also in dictionaries an
island where amber abounds. There is a shade of difference between Buk'ah and Bale' ah.
The former which is the correcter form = a patch of ground, a plain (hence the Buka'a
= Ccelesyria), while Bak'ah = a hollow where water collects. In Chavis we find "the
plain of flarrim " and in Gauttier la plains de Baschrin ; and the appointment was " for
the first of the month Niram " (Naysan).

3 ' Pharaoh," which Hebrew Holy Writ left so vague and unsatisfactory, has become
with the Arabs " Fir'aun," the dynastic name of Egyptian kings, as Kisra (Chosroes) of
the Persians, Tobba of the Himyarites, Kaysar (Caesar) of the Romans, Jalut (Goliath) of
the Phoenicians, Fagbfur of the Chinese, Khakdn of the Tartars, Adfonsh (Alfonso) of
the Spanish, and Aguetfd of the Berbers. Ibn Khaldun iv. 572.

4 "Mizr" in Assyrian = " Musur," in Heb. "Misraim" (the dual Misrs, whose
duality permeated all their polity), and in Arab " Misr," the O. Egypt. " Ha kahi
PtaV' (the Land of the great God, Ptah), and the Coptic '* Td-mera " = the Land of the
Nile flood, ignoring, I may add, all tradition of a Noachian or general deluge.

s The simplicity of old Assyrian correspondence is here well preserved, as we may
see by comparing those letters with the cuneiform inscriptions, etc., by S. Abden Smith
(Pfeiffer, Leipsic, 1887). One of them begins thus, "The will of the King to Sin-
tabni-Uzur. Salutation from me to thee. May it be well with thee. Regarding Sin-
sarra-utzur whom thou has sent to me, how is thy report P " etc. We find such expres-
sions as " May the great Gods, lovers of thy reign, preserve thee an hundred years; "
also " Peace to the King, my lord," etc.

Tke Say of Haykar the Sage. \ 3

potentate; and do thou straightway, on receipt of this epistle,
arise and march upon the Buk'at Nisrin to the end that I make
over to thee the kingdom without battle or slaughter." Now
Nadan's handwriting was the likest to that of his mother's brother.
Then he folded the two missives and sealed them with Haykar's
signet and cast them into the royal palace, after which he went
and indited a letter in the King's name to his uncle, saying : " All
salutations to my Wazir and Secretary and Concealer of my
secret, Haykar ; and do thou forthright on receipt of this present
levy thy host and all that be under thee with arms and armour
complete, and march them to meet me on fifth-day 1 at the Buk'at
Nisrin. Moreover, when thou see me approach thee make thy
many prepare for mimic onset as they were my adversaries and
offer me sham fight ; for that messengers from Pharaoh, King
of Egypt, have been sent to espy the strength of our armies.
Accordingly, let them stand in fear of us, for that they be our foes
and our haters." Presently, sealing this epistle, he sent it to
Haykar by one of the royal pages and himself carrying the other
letters he had addressed to the Persian and the Egyptian, he laid
them before the King and read them aloud and showed their seals.
But when Sankharib heard their contents he marvelled with mighty
great marvel and raged with exceeding rage and cried out, saying,
" What is it I have done unto Haykar that he should write such a
writ to mine adversaries ? Is this my reward for all the benefits
I have lavished upon Haykar ? " The other replied, " Be not
grieved, O King, and sorrow not, nor be thou an-angered : rather
let us fare on the morrow to the Buk'at Nisrin and look into the
matter, whether it be fact or falsehood." So when Thursday came,
Nadan arose, and taking the King and his Wazirsand army-officers
marched them over the wastes to the Lowland of the Eglantine,

1 Arab. " Yaum al-Khamfs." For the week-days see vol. vi. 190, and fort
notice, Al-Mas'udi, iiL 422-23.

14 Supplemental Nights.

and arrived there Sankharib, the Sovran, looked upon Haykar and
saw his host aligned in battle against himself. And when the
ex-Minister beheld his King approaching, he bade his host stir for
battle and prepare to smite the opposing ranks ; to wit, those of
his liege lord, even as he had been .commanded by royal rescript,
nor did he ken what manner of pit had been digged for him by
Nadan. But seeing this sight the monarch was agitated and
consterned and raged with mighty great wrath. Then quoth
Nadan, " Seest thou, O King, what this sorry fellow hath done ?
But chafe not, neither be thou sorrowful, but rather do thou retire
to thy palace, 'whither I will presently bring to thee Haykar
pinioned and bearing chains ; and I will readily and without
trouble fend off from thee thy foe." So when Sankharib hied him
home in sore anger with that which his ancient Minister had done,
Nadan went to his uncle and said, " Indeed the King hath rejoiced
with exceeding joy, and thanketh thee for acting as he bade thee,
and now he hath despatched me to order that thy men be bidden
to wend their ways, and that thou present thyself before him
pinioned and fettered to the end that thou be seen in such plight
of the envoys sent by Pharaoh concerning whom and whose master
our Monarch standeth in fear." "To hear is to obey!" replied
Haykar, and forthwith let pinion his arms and fetter his legs ;
then, taking with him Nadan, his nephew, he repaired to the
presence, where he found the King perusing the other forgecf
letter also sealed with the ministerial signet. When he entered
the throne-room he prostrated himself, falling to the ground upon
his face, and the Sovran said to him " O Haykar, my Viceregent
and Secretary and Concealer of my secret and Councillor of my
kingdom, say me, what have I wrought thee of wrong that thou
shouldst requite me with such hideous deed ? " So saying he
showed him the two papers written in the handwriting and sealed
with the seal of the accused who, when he looked upon them,
trembled in every limb, and his tongue was knotted for a while,

The Say of Haykar the Sage. \ 5

nor could he find power to speak a word, and he was reft of all
his reason and of his knowledge. Wherefor he bowed his brow
groundwards and held his peace. Buf when the King beheld this
his condition, he bade them slay him by smiting his neck without
the city, and Nadan cried aloud, " O Haykar, O blackavice, what
could have profited thee such trick and treason that thou do a
deed like this by thy King ? " * Now the name of the Sworder
was Abu Sumayk the Pauper, 2 and the monarch bade him strike
the neck of Haykar in front of the Minister's housedoor and place
his head at a distance of an hundred ells from his body. 3 Hearing
this Haykar fell prone before the King and cried, " Live thou, O
my lord the King, for ever and aye ! An thou desire my death
be it as thou wilt and well I wot that I am not in default and that
the evil-doer exacteth according to his ill-nature. 4 Yet I hope
from my lord the King and from his benevolence that he suffer the
Sworder make over my corpse to my menials for burial, and so
shall thy slave be thy sacrifice." Hereat the Monarch commanded
the Headsman do as he was desired, and the man, accompanied
by the royal pages, took Haykar, whom they had stripped of his
outer raiment, and led him away to execution. But when he was
certified of coming death, he sent tidings thereof to his wife,
Shaghaftini 1 hight, adding, " Do thou forthright come forth to
meet me escorted by a thousand maiden girls, whom thou shalt
habit in escarlate and sendal, that they -may keen over me ere I
perish ; moreover dispread for the Headsman and his varlets a table
of food and bring an abundance of good wine that they may drink

1 In the text " Kal " (al-Rawi), " the Reciter saith" which formula I omit here and
elsewhere.

2 i.e. " The Father of the little Fish," in Gauttier (vii. 329) " Abou Som&ka."

3 By way of insult ; as I have before noticed.

* He had now learned that Nadan had ruined him.

5 The wife (in p. 155, " Ashghaftini ") is called "Thou hast enamoured me " from
the root "Shaghaf" = violent love, joy, grief. Chavis has Zefagnie : Gauttier sup-
presses the name, which is not pretty. In the old version she is made aunt (father's
sister) to Sankharib.

1 6 Supplemental Nights.

and make merry." 1 Haykar's wife presently obeyed his orders for
she also was ware and wise, sharp-witted, experienced and a
compendium of accomplishments and knowledge. Now when the
guards 2 and the Sworder and his varlets came to Haykar's door,
they found the tables laid out with wine and sumptuous viands ;
so they fell to eating and drinking till they had their sufficiency
and returned thanks to the housemaster. 3 Thereupon Haykar led
the Headsman aside into privacy and said to him, " O Abu
Sumayk, 4 what while Sarhadun the King, sire of Sankharib the
King, determined to slay thee, I took thee and hid thee in a place
unknown to any until the Sovran sent for thee. Moreover I cooled
his temper every day till he was pleased to summon thee, and when
at last I set thee in his presence he rejoiced in thee. Therefore do
thou likewise at this moment bear in mind the benefits I wrought
thee, and well I wot that the King will repent him for my sake
and will be wroth with exceeding wrath for my slaughter, seeing
that I be guiltless ; so when thou shalt bring me alive before him
thy degree shall become of the highest. For know thou that
Nadan my nephew hath betrayed me and devised for me this ill
device ; and I repeat that doubtless my lord will presently rue my
ruin. Learn, too, that beneath the threshold of my mansion lieth
a souterrain whereof no man is ware : so do thou conceal me
therein with the connivance of my spouse Shaghaftini. Also I
have in my prison a slave which meriteth doom of death : 5 so
bring him forth and robe him in my robes ; then bid the varlets

1 The old version attributes all this device to " Zefagnie ; " thus injuring the unity and
the interest of the tale.

2 Arab. "Jund" plur. " Junud," a term mostly applied to regular troops under the
Government, as opposed to soldiers who took service with the Amirs or great barons a
state of things still enduring in n on -British India.

3 Who thus makes a " Ma'adabah " = wake or funeral feast before his death. See
vol. viii. 231.

i\*. " Father of the Fishlet," in the old version " Yapousmek " (Ya Abu Sumayk I)
6 In Chavis he becomes " an old slave, a magician, stained with the greatest crimes,
who has the air and figure of Hicar."

The Say of Haykar the Sage. \ 7

(they being drunken with wine) do him die, nor shall they know
whom they have slain. And lastly command them to remove his
head an hundred cubits from his body and commit the corpse unto
my chattels that they inter it. So shalt thou store up with me this
rich treasure of goodly deeds." Hereupon the Sworder did as he
was bidden by his ancient benefactor, and he and his men repairing
to the presence said, " Live thy head, O King, for ever and aye ! " l
And after this Shaghaftini, the wife of Haykar, brought meat and
drink to her husband down in the Matamor, 2 and every Friday she
would provide him with a sufficiency for the following week without
the weeting of anyone. Presently the report was spread and
published and bruited abroad throughout Assyria and Niniveh
how Haykar the Sage had been done to die and slain by his
Sovran ; and the lieges of all those regions, one and all, keened 3
for- him aloud and shed tears and said, " Alas for thee, O Haykar,
and alack for the loss of thy lore and thy knowledge ! Woe be to
us for thee and for thy experience ! Where now remaineth to find
thy like ? where now shall one intelligent, understanding and
righteous of rede resemble thee and stand in thy stead?"
Presently the King fell to regretting the fate of Haykar whereof
repentance availed him naught : so he summoned Nadan and said
to him, " Fare forth and take with thee all thy friends to keen and
make ceremonious wailings for thy maternal uncle Haykar and
mourn, according to custom, in honour of him and his memory."
But Nadan, the fool, the ignorant,, the hard of heart, going forth
the presence to show sorrow at his uncle's house, would neither
mourn nor weep nor keen ; nay, in lieu thereof he gathered
together lewd fellows and fornicators who fell to feasting and

1 A formula which announces the death of his supposed enemy.

2 Arab. " Matmurah " = Sarddbah (i. 340), a silo for storing grain, an underground cell

3 See text "Nhu" from t/ "Nauh" = ceremonious keening for the dead. The
general, term for the wail is "Walwalah" or "WilwaV (an onomatopoy) and for the
public wailing-woman Naddabah."

VOL. VI. *

1 8 Supplemental Nights.

carousing. After this he took to himself the concubines and slaves
belonging to his uncle, whom he would scourge and bastinado with
painful beating; nor had he any shame before the wife of his
adopted father who had entreated him as her son ; but solicited
her sinfully to lie with him. _ On the other hand Haykar, who
lay perdu in his Silo, ever praised Allah the Compassionate, 1 and
returned thanks unto Him for saving his life and was constant in
gratitude and instant in prayer and in humbling himself before
God. At times after due intervals the Sworder would call upon
him to do him honour due and procure him pleasure, after which
he would pray for his release and forthright gang his gait. Now
r/hen the bruit spread abroad over all the lands how that
Haykar the Wise had been done to die, the rulers everywhere
rejoiced, exulting in the distress of King Sankharib who sorely
regretted the loss of his Sage. Presently, awaiting the fittest

A-

season, the Monarch of Misraim arose and wrote a writ to
the Sovran of Assyria and Niniveh of the following tenor :
"After salams that befit and salutations that be meet and
congratulation and veneration complete wherewith I fain
distinguish my beloved brother Sankharib the King, I would
have thee know that I am about to build a bower in the air
between firmament and terra firma ; and I desire thee on thy
part to send me a man which is wise, a tried and an experienced,
that he may help me to edify the same : also that he make answer
to all the problems and profound questions I shall propose, other-
wise thou shalt deposit with me the taxes in kind 2 of Assyria and
Nineveh and their money-tributes for three years." Then he made
an end of his writ and, sealing it with his signet-ring, sent it to its

1 Here we find the Doric form "Rahtim" for <f Rahfm," or it may simply be the
intensive and emphatic form, as " Nazflr " = one who looks intently for " Na*zir," a
looker.

2 In the old version "a tenth part of the revenues." The "Kasfm" of the text is
an unusual word which M. Houdas would render revenues en nature^ as opposed to
KhiraJ, revenues en argent. I translate it by " tax tribute."

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 19

destination. But when the missive reached Sankharib, he took it
and read it, he and his Wazirs and the Lords of his land ; and all
stood perplext thereat and sore confounded ; whilst the King
waxed furious with excessive fury, and he was distraught as to
what he should do and how he should act. Anon, however, he
gathered together all the Shaykhs and Elders and the Olema and
doctors of law and the physicists and philosophers and the
charmers l and the astrologers and all such persons which were in
his realm, and he let read the epistle of Pharaoh in their presence.
Then he asked them, saying, " Who amongst you shall repair to
the court of Pharaoh, lord of Misraim, and reply to his interro-
gations ? " But they cried, " O our lord the King, do thou know
there be no one who can loose the knot of these difficulties save
only thy Wazir Haykar ; and now that none shall offer an answer
save Nadan, the son of his sister, whom he hath informed with all
his subtil ty and his science. Therefore, do thou summon him and
haply he shall unravel for thee a tangled skein so hard to untwist."
Sankharib did as they advised, and when Nadan appeared in the
presence said to him, " Look thou upon this writ and comprehend
its contents." But when the youth read it he said to the Sovran,
"O my lord the King, leave alone this folk for they point to
impossibilities : what man can base a bower upon air between
heaven and earth ? " As soon as King Sankharib heard these words.
of Nadan, he cried out with a mighty outcry and a violent ; then,,
stepping down from his throne, he sat upon ashes 2 and fell to
beweeping and bewailing the loss of Haykar and crying, " Alas,,
for me and woe worth the day for thee, O Caretaker of my capital:
and Councillor of my kingdom ! Where shall I find one like

1 In text "'Azzamin," i.e. men who recite "'Azm," mostly Koranic versets which
avert evil.

3 This may either be figurative or literal upon the ashes where the fire had
been ; even as the father of Sayf al-Muliik sat upon the floor of his audience-hall
(vol. vii. 314).

ao Supplemental Nights.

unto thee, O Haykar? Harrow now for me, O Haykar, Oh
Saviour of my secret and Manifester of my moot-points,
where now shall I fare to find thee? Woe is me for sake
of thee whom I slew and destroyed at the word of a silly
boy ! To him indeed who could bring Haykar before me or who
could give me the glad tidings of Haykar being on life, I would
give the half of my good ; nay, the moiety of my realm. But
whence can this come ? Ah me, O Haykar ; happy was he who
looked upon thee in life that he might take his sufficiency of thy
semblance and fortify himself 1 therefrom. Oh my sorrow for thee
to all time ! Oh my regret and remorse for thee and for slaying
thee in haste and for not delaying thy death till I had considered
the consequence of such misdeed." And the King persisted in
weeping and wailing night and day on such wise. But when the
Sworder 2 beheld the passion of his lord and his yearning and his
calling upon Haykar, he came to the presence and prostrated
himself and said, " O my lord, bid thy varlets strike off my head !"
Quoth the Monarch, " Woe to thee, what be thy sin ? " and quoth
the Headsman, " O my lord, what slave ever contrarieth the
command of his master let the same be slain, and I verily have
broken thy behest." The King continued, " Fie upon thee, 3 O
Abu Sumayk, wherein hast thou gainsaid me ? " and the other
rejoined, " O my lord, thou badest me slay the Sage Haykar ; but
well I wotted that right soon indeed thou wouldst regret the death
of him, and the more so for that he was a wronged man ; accord-
ingly I fared forth from thee and hid him in a place unbeknown
to any and I slew one of his slaves in his stead. And at this moment
Haykar is alive and well ; and if thou bid me, I will bring him

1 In text " Ya'tadir "from v/ 'Adr=heavy rain, boldness. But in this MS. the dots
are often omitted and the word may be Ya'tazir=find excuse.

* In the old version the wife is made to disclose the secret of her husband being alive
again a change for the worse.

Here Wayha-r. and before Wayla-k": see vols. v. 258; vii. 127 and
iii. 82.

The Say of Haykar the Sage.

21

before thee when, if thou be so minded, do thou put me to death,
otherwise grant me immunity." Cried the King, " Fie upon thee,

Abu Sumayk, how durst thou at such time make mock of me,

1 being thy lord ? " but the Sworder replied, " By thy life and the
life of thy head, O my lord, I swear that Haykar is alive and in
good case ! " Now when the Monarch heard these words from the
Sworder and was certified by him of the matter, he flew for very
gladness and he was like to fall a-swoon for the violence of his joy.
So he bade forthright Haykar be brought to him and exclaimed to
the Sworder, " O thou righteous slave an this thy say be soothfast,
I am resolved to enrich thee and raise thy degree amongst all my
companions ; " and so saying and rejoicing mightily he com-
manded the Sworder set Haykar in the presence. The man
fared to the Minister's house forthright, and opening the souterrain
went downstairs to the tenant whom he found sitting and praising
Allah and rendering to Him thanksgivings ; so he cried out and
said, " O Haykar, the blessedest of bliss hath come to thee, and
do thou go forth and gladden thy heart ! " Haykar replied, " And
what is to do ? " whereat the man told him the whole tale, first
and last, of what had befallen his lord at the hands of Pharaoh ;
then, taking him, led him to the presence. But when Sankharib
considered him, he found him as one clean wasted by want ; his
hair had grown long like the pelts of wild beasts and his nails
were as vulture's claws and his members were meagre for the
length of time spent by him in duresse and darkness, and the dust
had settled upon him and changed his colour which had faded
and waxed of ashen hue. So his lord mourned for his plight and,
rising up in honour, kissed him and embraced him and wept over
him saying, " Alhamdolillah laud to the Lord who hath restored
thee to me on life after death ! " Then he fell to soothing his
sorrows and consoled him, praying pardon of him the while ;
and after bestowing robes of honour upon the Sworder and giving
him due guerdon and lavishing upon him abundant good, he

22 Supplemental Nights.

busied himself about the recovery of Haykar, who said, " O my
lord the King, may thy head live for ever and aye! All this
wrong which befel me is the work of the adulterines, and I reared
me a palm-tree against which I might prop me, but it bent and
brought me to the ground : now, however, O my lord and master,
that thou hast deigned summon me before thee, may all passion
pass away and dolour depart from thee !" " Blessed and exalted be
Allah," rejoined Sankharib, " who hath had ruth upon thee, and
who, seeing and knowing thee to be a wronged man, hath saved
thee and preserved thee from slaughter. 1 Now, however, do thou
repair to the Hammam and let shave thy head and pare thy nails
and change thy clothes ; after which sit at home in ease for forty
days' space that thy health be restored and thy condition be righted
and the hue of health return to thy face ; and then (but not till
then) do thou appear before me." Hereupon the King invested
him with sumptuous robes, and Haykar, having offered thanks to
his liege lord, fared homewards in joyaunce and gladness frequently
ejaculating, " Subhdna 'llahu ta'ala God Almighty be glorified ! ' y
and right happy were his household and his friends and all who
learned that he was still on life. Then did he as the King had
bidden him and enjoyed his rest for two-score days, after which
he donned his finest dress and took horse, followed and preceded
by his slaves, all happy and exulting, and rode to Court, while
Nadan the nephew, seeing what had befallen, was seized with sore
fear and affright and became perplexed and unknowing what to
do. Now, when Haykar went in and salamed to the King, his
lord seated him by his side and said, " O my beloved Haykar, look
upon this writ which was sent to me by the King of Misraim after
hearing of thy execution ; and in very deed they ; to wit he and
his, have conquered and chastised and routed most of the folk of

1 The King, after the fashion of Eastern despots, never blames his own culpable folly
and hastiness : this was decreed to him and to his victim by Destiny.

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 23

our realm, compelling them to fly for refuge Egyptwards in fear of
the tax-tribute which they have demanded of us." So the
Minister took the missive and, after reading and comprehending
the sum of its contents, quoth he to the King, " Be not wroth, O
rny lord : I will repair in person to Egypt and will return a full
and sufficient reply to Pharaoh, and I will explain to him his
propositions and will bring thee from him all the tax-tribute he
demandeth of thee : moreover, I will restore all the lieges he hath
caused fly this country and I will humiliate every foe of thee by
aidance of Almighty Allah and by the blessings of thy Majesty/'
Now when the Sovran heard this answer, he rejoiced and his
heart was gladdened ; whereupon he gifted Haykar with a generous
hand and once more gave immense wealth to the Sworder.
Presently the Minister said, " Grant me a delay of forty days that
I ponder this matter and devise a sufficient device." As soon as
Sankharib granted him the required permission he returned home-
wards and, summoning his huntsmen, bade them catch for him two
vigorous young vultures ; l and, when these were brought, he sent
for those who twist ropes and commanded them make two cords
of cotton each measuring two thousand ells. He also bade bring
him carpenters and ordered them to build for him two coffers of
large size, and as soon as his bidding was done he chose out two
little lads, one hight Binuhal and the other Tabshalim. 2 Then
every day he would let slaughter a pair of lambs and therewith
feed the children and the vultures, and he mounted those upon
the back of these, binding them tight, and also making fast the

1 The older version reads " Roc'* and informs us that "it is a prodigious bird, found
in the deserts of Africa : it will bear two hundred pounds weight ; and many we of
opinion -that the idea of this bird is visionary." In Weber ii. 63, this is the device of
" Zafagnie," who accompanies her husband to Egypt.

2 This name appears to be a corruption. The sound, however, bears a suspicious
resemblance to " Dabshalim (a name most proper for such a Prince, to wit, meaning in
their tongue a mighty King)," who appears in chapt. i. of the " Fables of Pilpay "
(Bidpai = Bidyapati = Lord of Lore?) " Dabshalimat" = theDabshalims, was the dynastic
title of the Kings of Somanath (Somnauth) in Western India.

24 Supplemental Nights.

cords to the legs of the fowls. He would then allow the birds to
rise little by little, prolonging the flight every day to the extent
of ten cubits, the better to teach and to train them ; and they
learnt their task so well that in a short time they would rise to
the full length of the tethers till they soared in the fields of air
with the boys on their backs, after which he would let hale them
down. And when he saw them perfect in this process, he taught
the lads to utter loud shouts what while they reached the
full length of the cords and to cry out," Send us stones and mud 1
and slaked lime that we may build a bower for King Pharaoh,
inasmuch as we now stand here all the day idle ! " And Haykar
ceased not to accustom them and to instruct them until they
became dexterous in such doings as they could be. Then he
quitted them and presenting himself before King Sankharib said,
" O my lord, the work is completed even as thou couldst desire ;
but do thou arise and come with me that I may show thee the
marvel." Thereupon the King and his courtiers accompanied
Haykar to a wide open space outside the city whither he sent for
the vultures and the lads ; and after binding the cords he loosed
them to soar as high as the lanyards allowed in the firmament-plain,
when they fell to outcrying as he had taught them. And lastly he
haled them in and restored them to their steads. Hereat the King
wondered, as did all his suite, with extreme wonderment, and
kissing his Minister between his eyes, robed him in an honour-
able robe and said to him, " Go forth in safety, O my beloved,

1 Arab. Tin " = clay, mud, which would be used with the Tob (adobe, sun-dried
brick) forming the walls of Egypt and Assyria. M. G. Maspero, in his excellent booklet
" L'Archeologie Egyptienne," (p, 7. Paris, Quantin, 1887,) illustrates this ancient
industry which endures with all its gear to the present day. The average measured
o m 22 X o m II X o m 14; the larger was o m 38 X o m 18 X o m 14, with intermediate
sizes. These formed the cores of temple walls, and, being revetted with granite, syenite,
alabastet and other stones, made a grand show ; but when the outer coat was removed
they were presently weathered to the external semblance of mud-piles. Such was
mostly the condition of the ruins of grand Bubastis (" Pi-Pasht ") hod. Zagazig, where
excavations are still being pushed on.

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 25

and boast of my realm, to the land of Egypt 1 and answer the
propositions of Pharaoh and master him by the power of Almighty
Allah ; " and with these words farewelled him k \ Accordingly
Haykar took his troops and guards, together with the lads and the
vultures, and he fared forth intending for Fgypt where on arrival
he at once made for the royal Palace. And when the folk of the
capital understood that Sankharib the King had commissioned a
man of his notables to bespeak their Sovran the Pharaoh, they
entered and apprized their liege lord who sent a party of his
familiars summoning him to the presence. Presently Haykar the
Sage entered unto Pharaoh ; and after prostration as befitteth
before royalty said, " O my lord, Sankharib the King greeteth
|thee with many salutations and salams ; and hath sent me single-
handed sans other of his slave's, to the end that I answer thy
question and fulfil whatso thou requirest, and I am commanded to
supply everything thou needest ; 'especially inasmuch as thou hast
sent to the Monarch my master for the loan of a man who can
!build thee a bower between firmament and terra firma ; and I, by
'the good aidance of Allah Almighty and of thine august mag-
nanimity, will edify that same for thee even as thou desirest and
requirest. But this shall be upon the condition stablished con-
cerning the tax-tribute of Misraim for three years, seeing that the
consent of the Kings be their fullest securities. An thou vanquish
me and my hand fall short and I fail to answer thee, then shall my
liege lord send thee the tax-tribute whereof thou speakest ; but if
I bring thee all thou needest, then shalt thou forward to my lord
the tax-tribute thou hast mentioned and of him demanded."
Pharaoh, hearing these words, marvelled and was perplexed at the
eloquence of his tongue and the sweetness of his speech and pre-
sently exclaimed, " O man, what may be thy name ?" The other

1 The old version has " Masser, Grand Cairo (in the days of the Pharaohs !) ; so
called from having been built by Misraim, the son of Cham."

26 Supplemental Nights.

replied, " Thy slave is hight Abikam j 1 and I am an emmet of the
emmets under Sankharib the King." Asked Pharaoh, " Had not
thy lord one more dignified of degree than thou,that he send unto
me an ant to answer me and converse with me ? " and Haykar
answered, " I humbly hope of the Almighty that I may satisfy all
which is in thy heart, my lord ; for that Allah is with the weak-
ling the more to astound the strongling." Hereat Pharaoh gave
orders to set apart for Abikam his guest an apartment, also for
the guards and all that were with him and provide them with
rations and fodder of meat and drink, and whatso was appro-
priate to their reception as properest might be. And after the usual
three days of guest-rite 2 the King of Egypt donned his robes
of brightest escarlate ; and, having taken seat upon his throne,
each and every Grandee and Wazir (who were habited in the
same hue) standing with crossed arms and feet joined, 3 he sent a
summons to produce before him Haykar, now Abikam hight,'
Accordingly he entered and prostrated in the King's presence
and stood up to receive the royal behest, when Pharaoh after a
long delay asked him, " Abikam, whom do I resemble and what
may these my Lords and Ministers represent?"' Hereto the envoy
answered saying, " O my lord, thou favourest Bel the idol 4 and thy
chieftains favour the servitors thereof!" Then quoth the King,
"Now do thou depart and I desire thee on the morrow come

1 In Chavis, " Abicam, a Chaldaean astrologer ;" in Gauttier " Abimacam."

7 In Al-Harirf (p. 409) we read, " Hospitality is three days ;" and a Hadfs of the
Prophet confirms the liberal practice of The Ignorance : " The entertainment of a
guest is three days, and the viaticum ("Jaizah ") is a day and a night, and whatso
exceedeth is an alms-gift." On the first day is shown largeness and courtesy ; on the
second and third the stranger is treated after the usual custom of the household, and
then he is provided with rations for a day and a night. See Lane : A. Nights, i. 486 ;
also The Nights, vol. i. 3.

3 i.e. Not standing astraddle, or in other such indecorous attitude.

* Chavjs, " Bilelsanam, the oracle of Bel, the chief God of the Assyrian :" Gauttier
Une 'dole Bit. Bel (or Ba'al or Belus, the Phoenician and Canaanite head-god; may here
represent Hobal the biggest idol in the Meccan Pantheon, which used to be borne
on raids and expeditions to give plunder a religious significance. Tabari iii. 17..
Evidently the author holds it to be an idol.

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 27

again." Accordingly Abikam, which was Haykar, retired as he
was ordered, and on the next day he presented himself before
Pharaoh and after prostrating stood between his hands. The
King was habited in a red coat of various tincts and his mighty
men were garbed in white, and presently he enquired saying, " O
Abikam, whom do I resemble and what may these my Lords and
Ministers represent ? " He replied, " O my lord, thou art like
unto the sun and thy nobles are like the rays thereof ! " Then
quoth the King, " Do thou retire to thy quarters and to-morrow
come hither again/' So the other fared forth and Pharaoh com-
manded and charged his head men to don pure white, himself
doing the same ; and, having taken seat upon his throne, he bade
Abikam be brought into the presence and when he appeared asked
him, " Whom do I resemble, and what may these my Grandees
represent ? " He replied, " O my lord, thou favourest the moon
and thy servitors and guards favour the stars and planets and con-
stellations." Then quoth the King, " Go thou until the morrow
when do thou come hither again ;" after which he commanded his
Magnates to don dresses of divers colours and different tincts
whilst he wore a robe of ruddy velvet. Anon he seated him upon
his throne and summoned Abikam, who entered the presence and
prostrated and stood up before him. The King for a fourth time
asked him, " O Abikam, whom do I resemble and what may these
my guards represent ? " and he answered, " O my lord, thou art
like the auspicious month Naysdn ! , and thy guards and grandees
are like the white chamomile 2 and his bloom." Hearing these
words Pharaoh rejoiced with extreme joy and said, " O Abikam,
thou hast compared me first with Bel the idol, secondly with the
sun and thirdly with the moon and lastly with the auspicious

1 The Syro-solar month = April ; much celebrated by poets and ficttonists : rain
falling at such time into shells becomes pearls and upon serpents poison.

2 The text has " Baybunah," prop. Babunaj in Arab., and in Pers. " Babuk," oar
"Babiinak' = the white camomile-flower. See vol. Hi. 58.

28 Supplemental Nights.

month Naysan, and my lords with the chamomile and his flower.
But say me now unto what likenest thou Sankharib thy lord, and
what favour his Grandees ? " Haykar made answer, " Heaven for-
fend I mention my liege lord the while thou sittest on thy throne ;
but rise to thy feet, and I will inform thee what my Master repre-
senteth and what his court most resembleth." Pharaoh, struck with
astonishment at such heat of tongue and valiancy of speech, arose
from his seat and stood facing Haykar and presently said, " Now
tell me that I may learn what thy lord resembleth and what his
Grandees represent." The other made reply, " My lord resembleth
the God of Heaven, and his lords represent the Lightning and
Thunder. An it be his will the winds do blow and the rains do
fall ; and, when he deign order, the leven playeth and the thunder
roareth and at his behest the sun would refuse light and the moon
and stars stand still in their several courses. But he may also
command the storm-wind to arise and downpours to deluge when
Naysan would be as one who beateth the bough 1 and who scat-
tereth abroad the blooms of the chamomile." Pharaoh hearing
these words wondered with extreme wonderment, then raging with
excessive rage he cried, " O man, tell me the real truth and let me
know who thou art in very sooth." " I am Haykar/ 1 quoth the
other, " Chief Secretary and especial to Sankharib the King ; also
his Wazir and Councillor of his kingdom and Keeper of his
secret." " Thou statest fact, O Sage," quoth Pharaoh, " and
this thy say is veridical : yet have we heard that Haykar is dead
indeed, withal here art thou alive and alert." The Minister
replied, "Yea, verily that was the case, but Alhamdolillah
Glory to God, who knoweth all hidden things, my master had in
very deed doomed me die believing the reports of certain traitors,

1 "Khabata"="He (the camel) pawed the ground." The prim. sig. is to beat,
secondly, U is applied to a purblind camel which beats or strikes the ground and so
stumbles, or to him who bashes a tree for its leaves ; and lastly to him who gets alms
by begging. See Chenery's Al-Hariri, p. 447.

The Say of Haykarthe Sage.

29

but my Lord preserved me and well done to him who relieth
upon the Almighty ! " Then quoth Pharaoh, " Go forth and
on the morrow do thou return hither and say me somewhat
no man hath ever heard, nor I nor my Grandees nor any of
the folk in my kingdom and my capital." Accordingly Haykar
hied him home and penned a .paper wherein he said as follows :
" From Sankharib, King of Assyria and Naynawah, to Pharaoh
King of Misraim : Peace be upon thee, O my brother ! As well
thou wottest, brother needeth brother and the Kings require the
aidance of other Kings and my hope from thee is that thou wilt
lend l me the loan of nine hundred-weight 2 of gold which I require
to expend on the pay and allowances due to certain of my soldiery
wherewith to provide for them the necessaries of life." After this
he folded the writ and despatched it by a messenger on the next
day to Pharaoh, who perused it and was perplext and exclaimed,
"Verily and indeed never till now have I heard a saying like
unto this at all, nor hath anyone ever spoken 8 to me after such
fashion!" Haykar replied, " Tis fact, and 'tis well an thou
own thee debtor of such sum to my lord the King." Pharaoh
accepted this resolving of his proposition and said, " O Haykar,

'tis the like of thee who suiteth the service of the Kings, and

i
blessed be Allah who perfected thee in wisdom and adorned thee

with philosophy 4 and knowledge. And now remaineth to us only
one need of thee ; to wit, that thou build us a bower between
firmament and terra firma." Haykar replied, " Hearkening and

1 Arab. Karz"= moneys lent in interest and without fixed term of payment, as
opp. to "Dayn."

2 In text "KintaV'=a quintal, 98 to 99 Ibs. avoir. : in round numbers a cwt. a
hundred weight: see vol. ii. 233. The old version explains it by "A golden coin,
equivalent to three hundred livres French (?)." About the value of the Kintar of
gold, doctors differ. Some value it at 40 ounces, others make it a leathern bag con-
taining 1,080 to 1,100 dinars, and others 100 rotls (Ibs.) of precious metal; while
Al-Makrizi relates that Mohammed the Apostle declared, "The Kintar of gold is
twelve hundred ounces." Baron de Slane (Ibn Khaldun, i. 210) computes IOO Kinta"r*
= I million of francs.

3 In the text " wa 1 ahad tafawwaha fina."

4 Arab. " Falsafah" = philosophy : see vols. v. 234 and vii. 145,

30 Supplemental Nights.

obeying! I will edify it for thee e'en as thou wishest and
thou choosest ; but do thou get ready for me gypsum lime
and ashlar-stone and brick-clay and handicraftsmen, while I
also bring architects and master masons and they shall erect
for thee whatso thou requirest." So King Pharaoh gat ready
all this and fared forth with his folk to a spacious plain without
the city whither Haykar and his pages had carried the boys
and the vultures ; and with the Sovran went all the great men of
his kingdom and his host in full tale that they might look upon
the wonder which the Envoy of Assyria was about to work. But
when they reached the place appointed, Haykar brought out of
their boxes the vultures and making fast the lads to their backs
bound the cords to the legs of the birds and let them loose,
when they soared firmament-wards till they were poised between
heaven and earth. Hereat the lads fell to crying aloud, " Send up
to us the stones and the mud and the slaked lime that we may
build a bower for King Pharaoh, forasmuch as here we stand the
whole day idle." At this were agitated all present, and they
marvelled and became perplext ; and not less wondered the King
and the Grandees his lieges, while Haykar and his pages fell
to buffeting the handicraftsmen and to shouting at the royal
guards, saying, "Provide the workmen with that they want,
nor hinder them from their work ! " Whereupon cried Pharaoh,
" O Haykar, art thou Jinn-mad ? Who is ever able to convey
aught of these matters to so far a height ? " But he replied to the
King, " O my lord, how shall we build a bower in the lift on other
wise ? And were the King my master here he would have edified
two such edifices in a single day." Hearing this quoth Pharaoh to
him, " Hie thee, O Haykar, to thy quarters, and for the present
take thy rest, seeing that we have been admonished anent the
building of the bower ; but come thou to me on the morrow."
Accordingly, Haykar fared to his lodging, and betimes on the
next day presented himself before Pharaoh, who said to him,

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 3 1

" O Haykar, what of the stallion of thy lord which, when he
neigheth in Assyria and Nineveh, his voice is heard by our .mares
in this place so that they miscarry ? 1 " Hereat Haykar left the
King and faring to his place took a tabby-cat and tying her up
fell to flogging her with a sore flogging until all the Egyptians
heard her outcries and reported the matter to the Sovran. So
Pharaoh sent to fetch him and asked, " O Haykar, for what
cause didst thou scourge this cat and beat her with such beating,
she being none other but a dumb beast 2 ? " He replied, " O my
lord the King, she hath done by me a wrongous deed and she
hath amply merited this whipping and these stripes." The King
asked, "And what may be this deed she did ?" whereto Haykar
made answer, " Verily my master Sankharib the King had given
me a beautiful cock who had a mighty fine voice and a strong,
and he knew the hours of darkness and announced them. But
as he was in my mansion this mischief-making tabby fared there
and fell upon him last night and tare off his head ; and for this
cause when she returned to me I took to punishing her with
such blows and stripes.'* Pharaoh rejoined, " O Haykar, indeed
I see thou art old and doting ! Between Misraim and Nineveh
lie eight hundred and sixty parasangs ; so how could this cat have
covered them in one night and have torn off thy chanticleer's
head and have returned by morning to Egypt?" He replied,
"O my lord, seeing that between Egypt and Assyria is such
interval how then can the neighing of my lord the King's stallion
reach unto Nile-land and be heard by your mares so that here
they miscarry ? " When Pharaoh had pondered these words, he

1 In the text " Fa-yatrahuna," masc. for fern.

2 The writer probably remembered that the cat was a sacred animal amongst the
Egyptians : see Herod., ii. 66, and Diod. Sic., who tells us (vol. i. p. 94) of a Roman
put to death under Ptolemy Auletes for accidentally killing one of these holy beasts. The
artists of Bubastis, whose ruins are now for the first time being scientifically explored,
modelled the animal in bronze with an admirable art akin to nature.

32 Supplemental Nights.

knew that the envoy had returned him a full and sufficient
reply, so quoth he, " O Haykar, 'tis my desire that thou make
for me two ropes of sand ; " and quoth the other, " Do thou
prescribe that they bring me a cord from thy stores that I twist
one like it." So when they had done as he bade, Haykar fared
forth arear of the palace and dug two round borings equal to the
thickness of the cord ; then he collected sand from the river-bed
and placed it therein, so that when the sun arose and entered into
the cylinder, the sand appeared in the sunlight like unto ropes. 1
Thereupon quoth he to Pharaoh, " Command thy slaves take up
these ropes and I will twist thee as many of them as thou wiliest."
Quoth Pharaoh, " O Haykar, we have before our eyes a millstone
which is broken ; and I require of thee that thou sew up the rent."
Accordingly the Envoy looked about him and, seeing there another
stone, said to Pharaoh, " O my lord, here am I a stranger man nor
have I with me aught of darning-gear ; but I would have thee
bid thy confidants amongst the cobblers to provide me out of this
other stone with shoemaker's awls and needles and scissors
wherewith I may sew up for thee the breach in yon millstone. 1 '
Hereat Pharaoh the King fell a-laughing, he and his Grandees,
and cried, "Blessed be Allah, who hath vouchsafed to thee all
this penetration and knowledge ; " then, seeing that the Envoy
had answered all his questions and had resolved his propositions

1 M. Houdas explains this miswritten passage, Quand k soldi fut Uvt et qu'il ptnttra
farces ouvertures (lis.abkhdsk, trou de fl&te)) il rtpandit (^ not JSJ) le sable dans ces
cylindres formts par la lumtire du soleil. It is not very intelligible. I understand that
the Sage went behind the Palace and drove through a mound or heap of earth a narrow
hole bearing east west, which he partially filled up with sand ; and so when the sun rose
the beams fell upon it and made it resemble a newly made cord of white flax. M. Agoub
(in Gauttier, vol. vi. 341) shirks, as he is wont to do, the whole difficulty. [The idea
seems to me to be, and I believe this is also the meaning of M. Houdas, that Haykar
produced streaks of light in an otherwise dark room by boring holes in the back wall,
and scattered the sand over them, so that, while passing through the rays of the sun, it
assumed the appearance of ropes. Hence he says mockingly to Pharaoh, " Have
these ropes taken up, and each time you please I will twist thee the like of them"
reading " Aftilu," 1st p. aor. instead of " Ifdl," 2nd imper. -ST.]

The Say of Haykar the Sage.

33

he forthright confessed that he was conquered and he bade them
collect the tax-tribute of three years and present it to him
together with the loan concerning which Haykar had written
and he robed him with robes of honour, him and his guards and
his pages ; and supplied him with viaticum, victual and moneys
for the road, and said to him, " Fare thee in safety, O honour of
thy lord and boast of thy liege : who like unto thee shall be
found as a Councillor for the Kings and the Sultans ? And do
thou present my salam to thy master Sankharib the Sovran
saying : Excuse us for that which we forwarded to thee, as the
Kings are satisfied with a scanting of such acknowledgment.'* l
Haykar accepted from him all this ; then, kissing ground before
him, said, " I desire of thee, O my lord, an order that not a man
of Assyria and Nineveh remain with thee in the land of Egypt
but fare forth it with me homewards." ^Hereupon. Pharaoh sent
a herald to make proclamation of all whereof Haykar had spoken
to him, after which the envoy farewelled the King and set out
on his march intending for the realm of Assyria and Nineveh
and bearing with him of treasures and moneys a mighty matter.
When the tidings of his approach came to the ears of Sankharib,
the King rode forth to meet his Minister, rejoicing in him with
joy exceeding and received him lovingly and kissed him, and cried,
" Well come and welcome and fair welcome to my sire and the
glory of my realm and the vaunt of my kingdom : do thou require
of me whatso thou wantest and choosest, even didst thou covet
one-half of my good and of my government." The Minister
replied, " Live, O King, for ever ; and if thou would gift me
bestow thy boons upon Abu Sumayk, the Sworder, whose wise
delay, furthered by the will of Allah Almighty, quickened me
with a second life," " In thine honour, O my beloved," quoth

1 Gauttier (vi. 347), Get prtsens tie sontpas dignes de lui; mats ptu de chose content*
Its rots.

VOL. VI. <3

34 Supplemental Nights.

the King, I will do him honour ;" and presently he fell to
questioning his envoy concerning what had befallen him from
Pharaoh and how the Lord of the Misraim had presented him with
the tax-tribute and moneys and gifts and honourable robes ; and
lastly, he asked anent the instances and secrets which ended the
mission. So Haykar related all that had betided, whereat
Sankharib rejoiced with mighty great joy ; and, when the converse
was concluded, the King said to him, " O Haykar, take unto thee
everything thou wishest and wantest of all this, for 'tis in the
grasp of thy hand." Haykar answered, Live, O King, for ever
and aye ; naught do I require save thy safety and the permanency
of thy rule : what shall I do with moneys and such like ? But
an thou deign largesse me with aught, make over to me in free
gift Nadan, my sister's son, that I requite him for that he wrought
with me : and I would that thou grant me his blood and make
it lawfully my very own." Sankharib replied. "Take him, for
I have given to thee that same." So Haykar led his nephew
to his home l and bound his hands in bonds and fettered his
feet with heavy chains ; then he beat him with a severe bastinado
and a torturing upon his soles and calves, his back, his belly and
his armpits ; after which bashing he cast him into a black hole
adjoining the jakes. He also made Binuhal guardian over him
and bade hrm be supplied day by day with a scone of bread
and a little water ; and whenever the uncle went in to or came
forth from the nephew he would revile Nadan and of his
wisdom would say to him, " O dear my son, I wrought with thee
all manner of good and kindly works and thou didst return me

1 Haykar is a Sage who follows the religion of nature, "-Love thy friends and hate
thy foes." Gauttier (vii. 349) embroiders all this with Christian and French sentiment
V intention stcrete de Hey car etait de sauver la vie a Fingrat qui avail conspirt centre
la sienne. Jl voulait pour toute vengeance, le mettre desormais dans F impossibility de
nuire et Vabandonner ensuite a ses rewords, persuade que le remords rfest pas le moindre
thdtiment du coupable. True nonsense this when talking of a character born bad : its
only remorse is not to have done worse than bad.

The Say of Haykarthe Sage,

35

therefor evil and treason and death. O dear my son, 'tis said
in saws : Whoso heareth not through his ears, through the nape
of his neck shall he hear." l Hereat quoth Nadan, " O my uncle,
what reason hast thou to be wroth with me ? " and quoth Haykar,
" For that I raised thee to worship and honour and made thee
great after rearing thee with the best of rearing and I educated
thee so thou mightest become mine heir in lore and contrivance
and in worldly good. But thou soughtest my ruin and destruc-
tion and thou desiredst for me doom of death ; however, the
Lord, knowing me to be a wronged man, delivered me from thy
mischief, for God hearteneth the broken heart and abaseth the
envious and the vain-glorious. O dear my son, 2 thou hast been
as the scorpion who when she striketh her sting 3 upon brass
would pierce it. O dear my son, thou hast resembled the
Sajalmah-bird 4 when netted in net who, when she cannot save
herself alive, she prayeth the partridges to cast themselves into
perdition with her, O dear my son, thou hast been as the cur
who, when suffering cold entereth the potter's house to warm him-
self at the kiln, and when warmed barketh at the folk on such
wise that they must beat him and cast him out, lest after barking
he bite them. O dear my son, thou hast done even as the hog
who entered the Hammam in company with the great ; but after
coming out he saw a stinking fosse a-flowing 5 and went and
therein wallowed. O dear my son, thou hast become like the
old and rank he-goat who when he goeth in leadeth his friends
and familiars to the slaughter-house and cannot by any means
come off safe or with his own life or with their lives. O dear
my son, a hand which worketh not neither plougheth, and withal

1 Striking the nape being the Moslem equivalent for " boxing ears."
a With this formula compare Chaucer, " The Manciple's Tale."

* In the text " Zrmdkt-ha," which is unintelligible, although the sense be clear.

* A bird unknown to the dictionaries, apparently a species of hawk.

* In the text " Jurah Sydn" for "Jurah SayyaV'

36 Supplemental Nights.

is greedy and over-nimble shall be cut off from its armpit.
O dear my son, thou hast imitated the tree whom men hew
down, head and branch, when she said : Had not that in your
hands been of me, 1 indeed ye would not have availed to my
felling. O dear my son, thou hast acted as did the she-cat
to whom they said : Renounce robbing that we make thee
collars of gold and feed thee with sugar and almond cake !
But she replied : As for me, my craft is that of my father
and my mother, nor can I ever forget it. O dear my son, thou
art as a dragon mounted upon a bramble-bush, and the two
a-middlemost a stream, which when the wolf saw he cried :
A mischief on a mischief and let one more mischievous counsel
the twain of them. O dear my son, with delicate food I fed thee
and thou didst not fodder me with the driest of bread ; and
of sugar and the finest wines I gave thee to drink, while thou
grudgedst to me a sup of cold water. O dear my son, I taught
thee and tendered thee with the tenderest of tending and garred
thee grow like the lofty cedar of Lebanon, but thou didst incrimi-
nate me and confine me in fetters by thine evil courses. 2 O dear
my son, I nourished a, hope that thou wouldst build me a strong
tower wherein I might find refuge from mine adversary and foil
my foes ; but thou hast been to me as a burier, a grave-digger,
who would thrust me into the bowels of the earth : however, my
Lord had mercy upon me. O dear my son, I willed thee well and
thou rewardedst me with ill-will and foul deed ; wherefore, 'tis
now my intent to pluck out thine eyes and hack away thy tongue
and strike off thy head with the sword-edge and then make thee
meat for the wolves ; and so exact retaliation from thine abomin-
able actions." Hereupon Nadan made answer and said to Haykar
his uncle, " Do with me whatso thy goodness would do and then

1 The tree having furnished the axe-helve.

3 M. Houdas translates Tu as mtdit de moi et tu nfas accablc de Us mtchancettc.

The Say of Haykar the Sage. 37

condone thou to me all my crimes, for who is there can offend like
me and can condone like thee ? And now I pray thee take me
into thy service and suffer me to slave in thy house and groom thy
horses, even to sweeping away their dung, and herd thy hogs ; for
verily I am the evil-doer and thou art the beneficent ; I am the
sinner and thou art the pardoner." " O dear my son," rejoined
Haykar, " Thou favourest the tree which, albe planted by the side
of many waters, was barren of dates and her owner purposed to
hew her down, when she said : Remove me unto another stead
where if I fruit not then fell me. But he rejoined : Being upon
the water-edge thou gavest ne'er a date, so how shalt thou bear
fruit being in other site ?. O dear my son, better the senility of the
eagle than the juvenility of the raven. O dear my son, they said to
the wolf: Avoid the sheep lest haply the dust they raise in flight
may do thee a damage ; but Lupus made answer : Verily their dust
is a powder good for the eyes. O dear my son, they brought the
wolf to school that he might learn to read ; but, when quoth they
to him : Say A, B, C, D, 1 quoth he, Lamb, Sheep, Kid, Goat, 1
even as within my belly. O dear my son, they set the ass's head
beside a tray of meats, but he slipped down and fell to rolling upon
his back, for his nature (like that of others) may never be changed.
O dear my son, his say is stablished who said : When thou hast
begotten a child assume him to be thy son, and when thou hast
reared a son assume him to be a slave. 3 O dear my son, whoso
doeth good, good shall be his lot ; and whoso worketh evil, evil shall
befal him ; for that the Lord compensateth mankind according to
conduct. O dear my son, wherewith shall I bespeak thee beyond
this my speech ? and verily Allah knoweth concealed things and

In text f Alif, b, la", s," the latter written with a Sin instead of aTha, showing
vulgar use which extends from Alexandria to Meccah.

2 So in French, deriding the difference between written and spoken English, Ecrivtt
Salmonassar, prononcez crocodile.

3 Because he owes thee more than a debt of life.

3 8 Supplemental Nights.

wotteth all secret and hidden works and ways and He shall requite

thee and order and ordain between me and thee and shall

recompense thee with that thou deservest." Now when Nadan

heard these words from his uncle Haykar, his body began to swell

and become like a blown-up bag and his members waxed puffy,

his legs and calves and his sides were distended, then his belly

split asunder and burst till his bowels gushed forth and his and

(which was destruction) came upon him ; so he perished and fared

to Jahannam-fire and the dwelling-place dire. Even so it is

said in books : " Whoever diggeth for his brother a pit shall

himself fall into it and whoso setteth up a snare for his

neighbour shall be snared therein." And this

much know we anent the Say of Haykar

the Sage, and magnification be to

Allah for ever and ever

AMEN.

TMT. 1

" Tammat = She (the tale) is finished-

THE HISTORY OF AL-BUNDUKANI.
OR.

THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE
DAUGHTER OF KING KISRA.

THE HISTORY OF AL-BUNDUKAN1

OR,

THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE
DAUGHTER OF KING KISRA.

t&e name of ailaft tljc ^Compassionating, t&e Compassionate,
foe fiere in&ite, bg tfte afoance of t&e gUmfgfjtg an& |^fe fut&erance, tfje
of tje (Ztalfpfj f^arun al-Basfjfo an& of tfje Daug&ter of
t&e

IT is related (but Allah is all-knowing of His secrets and ail-
kenning in whatso hath passed and preceded and preterlapsed of
the annals of folk), 2 that the Caliph (by whom I mean Harun al-
Rashid) was sitting on the throne of his kingdom one chance day
of the days which happened to be the fete of 'Arafdt 5 And as
he chanced to glance at Ja'afar the Barmaid, he said to him, "O
Wazir, I desire to disguise myself and go down from my palace
into the streets and wander about the highways of Baghdad that I

1 MSS. pp 217-265. Seethe "Arabian Tales," translated by Robert Heron (Edinburgh
.DCC.XCII.), where it is, "The Robber-Caliph; or Adventures of Haroun Alraschid,

with the Princess of Persia, and the fair Zutulb6," vol. i. pp. 2-69. Gauttier, Histoire
du Khalyfe de Baghdad, vol. vii. pp. 117-150.

2 In text " Ahadfs," esp. referred to the sayings of Mohammed, and these are divided
into two great sections, the "Ahadfs al-Nabawf," or the actual words pronounced by
the Apostle ; and the " Ahadis al- Kudus," or the sentences attributed to the Archangel
Gabriel.

a Heron has "the Festival of Haraphat," adding a power of nonsense. This is the'
day of the sermon, when the pilgrims sleep at Muzdalifah (Pilgrimage iii. 265). Kusayy,
an ancestor of the Apostle, was the first to prepare a public supper at this oratory, and
the custom was kept up by Harun al-Rashid, Zubaydah and Sha'ab, mother of the
Caliph al-Muktadir (Tabari ii. 368). Alms are obligatory on the two great Tds or
festivals, al-Fitr which ends the Ramazdn fast and al-Kurban during the annual
Pilgrimage. The dole must consist of at least a " Sd'" = 7 Ibs. in grain, dates, &c.

42 Supplemental Nights.

may give alms to the mesquin and miserable and solace myself
with a sight of the folk : so do thou hie with me nor let any know
of our faring forth." " With love and good will," quoth Ja'afar.
So his lord arose and passed from the audience-room into the inner
palace where the two donned disguise and made small their sleeves
and breasts 1 and issued forth to circle about the thoroughfares of
Baghdad and her market-streets, distributing charity to the poor
and the paupers, until the last of the day. And whilst so doing,
the Commander of the Faithful chanced to espy a woman seated
at the head of a highway who had extended the hand of beggary,
showing at the same time her wrist and crying, " Give me some-
what for the sake of Allah Almighty ! " Hereat he considered her
nicely and saw that her palm and her wrist were like whitest
crystal and yet more brilliant in brightness. So he wondered
thereat, and presently pulling a dinar from his breast-pocket he
handed it to Ja'afar and said, " Bestow it upon yonder woman. 1 *
The Minister took the ducat and leaving his lord went up to her
and placed it in her palm ; and, when she closed her fingers there-
upon, she felt that the coin was bigger than a copper or a silverling,
so she looked thereat and saw that it was of gold. Hereupon she
called after Ja'afar who had passed onwards, saying, " Ho, thou
fair youth ! " and when he came back to her she continued, " The
dinar wherewith thou hast gifted me, is it for Allah's sake or for
other service ? " Said he, " Tis not from me, nay 'twas given by
yonder Youth who sent it through me." " Ask him," she rejoined,
" and tell me what may be his purport." Ja'afar hied him back
to the Caliph and reported her words, whereat his lord commanded
him, " Go back and say thou to her 'tis for Almighty Allah's sake."
The Minister did his master's bidding when she replied, " His
reward be upon the Almighty." Then the Wazir returned and

1 i.e. habited themselves in the garments of little people: so to ' enlarge the
turband" is to assume the rank of an 'Alim or learned man. "Jayb," the breast of a
coat is afterwards used in the sense of a pocket.

The History of Al-Bundukani.

43

reported the woman's prayer to the Commander of the Faithful,
who cried, " Hie thee to her and enquire an she be married or
virginal ; and, if she be unwedded, do thou ask her -an she be
willing to wive with me." 1 So Ja'afar fared to her and questioned
her, whereat she answered, " A spinster." Quoth he, " The Youth
who sent the dinar to thee desireth to mate with thee ;" and quoth
she, " An he can pay me my dower and my money down, 2 1 will
become his bride." Hereat Ja'afar said in his thought, " Whence
can the Prince of True Believers find her dower and her money
down ? Doubtless we shall have to ask a loan for him ;" 3 and
presently he enquired of her what might be the Amount of both.
Replied she, "As for the pin-money, this shall be the annual
revenue of Ispahdn, and the income of Khordsdn-city shall form
the settlement.'' So Ja'afar wagged his head and going back to
the Commander of the Faithful repeated her terms ; wherewith
Harun was satisfied and bespake him, " Hie thee to her and
say : He hath accepted this "and thou hast professed thyself
contented. Hearing his words she rejoined, " What be. his worth,
yonder man, and how may he attain unto such sum ? " and he
retorted, " Of a truth he is the Commander of the Faithful, Harun
al-Rashid." When this reply reached her ears she veiled her hands
and feet crying, " To Allah be laud and gratitude ;" adding to Ja'afar,
" An he be the Prince of True Believers, I am satisfied therewith,"
Accordingly the Wazir returned to the Caliph and reported her
consent, whereafter the twain repaired homewards and the Caliph
despatched to her a duenna and a train of handmaidens who went
and bore her to the Hammam within the palace and bathed her.
Then they brought her out and robed her in sumptuous raiment,

1 Either the Caliph was persuaded that the white wrist was a " promise of better things
above and below," or he proposed marriage as a mere freak, intelligible enough when
divorce costs only two words.

2 In text "Nakdf " = the actual as opposed to the contingent dowry : see vols. vu.
126; ix. 32.

* This is said in irony.

44 Supplemental Nights.

uch as becometh the women of the Kings, and ornaments and
jewellery and what not : after which they led her to a fine apart-
ment which was set apart and private for her wherein also were
meat and drink and furniture, arras 1 and curtains and all necessaries
of such sort. In fine they fared to the Caliph and apprized him
of what they had done and he presently gave command to summon
the four Kazis who wrote her marriage-lines. When it was night
he paid her the first visit and taking seat opposite her he asked,
" Daughter of whom mayst thou be amongst the folk that thou
demandedst of me this dower ? " " Allah advance in honour the
Commander of the Faithful," answered she ; " verily thy handmaid is
of the seed of Kisra Anushirwan ; but the shifts of time and tide
brought me down and low down." Replied he, " They relate that
thine ancestor, the Chosroe, wronged his lieges with mighty sore
wronging ; " * and she rejoined, " Wherefor and because of such
tyranny over the folk hath his seed come to beg their bread at the
highway-heads. 1 ' Quoth he, " They also make mention of him
that in after-times he did justice to such degree that he decided
causes between birds and beasts ; " and quoth she, " Wherefor hath
Allah exalted his posterity from the highway-head and hath made
them Harfm to the Prince of True Believers." Hearing this the
Caliph was wroth with mighty great wrath 8 and sware that he
would not go in unto her for a full told year, and arising forthright
went forth from her. But when the twelvemonth had passed and
the fte-day of Arafat came round again, the Commander of the
Faithful donned disguise and taking with him Ja'afar and Masrur
the Eunuch, strolled out to wander about the streets of Baghdad and

1 In text " Bashdkhfn " plur. of " Bashkhdnah :" see Suppl. vols. i. 165 j iii. 121.

* In Heron he becomes " Kassera-Abocheroan." Anushirwan (in full Anushfn-
rawdn = sweet of soul) is popularly supposed to have begun his rule badly after the
fashion of Eastern despots, and presently to have become the] justest of monarchy
Nothing of this, however, is found in Tabari (ii. 159).

8 He was indignant because twitted with having married a beggar*maid like good
King Cophetua. In Heron he is " moved by so sensible a reply."

The History of Al-Bundukani.

45

her highways. And as they walked along, the Caliph looked about
him and beheld a booth wherein a man was turning out Katffah-
cakes 1 and he was pleased to admire his dexterity to such degree
that, returning to the Palace, he sent him one of his Eunuchs
with the message, " The Prince of True Believers requireth of thee
an hundred pancakes, and let each one of them, when filled and
folded, fit into the hollow of a man's hand." So the Castrato
went and gave the order as we have related and paid the price
and, when the pastrycook had made his requirement, he carried it
away to the presence. Then the Caliph took seat and bade bring
sugar and pistachios and all other such needs wherewith he fell
to stuffing the pancakes with his own hands and placing in each
and every a golden dinar. When this was done he despatched
the same Eunuch to Kisra's daughter with the message, " This
night the Commander of the Faithful proposeth to visit thee, the
year of his oath having expired, and he sendeth to thee saying :
What is it thy heart coveteth that he may forward it to thee ? " The
Castrato set forth upon this errand and received for all reply, " Say
him my heart desireth naught, for that all I require is with me, nor
is there aught of deficiency." Accordingly, he returned and repeated
her words to the Caliph who bade him fare forth again to her and
say the same to her a second time, whenas she, " Let him send me
a thousand dinars and a duenna in whom he confideth, so that I
may disguise myself and go down with her and distribute gold to
the mean and the mesquin." Presently back came the slave bear-
ing this reply, whereat the Caliph ordered the moneys be sent to
her and the woman required ; and the twain, Princess and duenna,
went forth and threaded the lanes of Baghdad and her great
throughfares whilst the young lady distributed her charity to the
Fakirs and the paupers. But when all the gold with her had

1 Plur. " Kataif/' a kind of pancake made of flour and sugar (or honey) and ofl or
butter.

46 Supplemental Nights.

been expended and naught of it remained, they turned homewards
making for the Palace ; and, the day being sultry, drowthiness
befel the young lady. So she said to her companion, " O mother
mine, I am athirst and want a draught of water to drink ; " and
said the other, " We will call aloud to the Water-carrier 1 who shall
give thee thy need." Replied the Princess, " Drinking from the
Waterman's jar will not be pleasant to my heart ; nor will I touch
it, for 'tis like the whore 2 whereinto some man goeth every hour :
let the draught of water be from a private house and suffer that it
be given by way of kindness." Hereupon the old woman looked
in front of her and saw a grand gateway with a door of sandal-
wood over which a lamp hung by a silken cord 3 and a curtain was
drawn across it and it had two benches of marble, the whole under
the charge of a goodly concierge. Then quoth she, " From this
house I will ask a drink for thee." So the two women went
forward and stood before the door and the duenna advancing
rapped a light rap with the ring, when behold, the entrance was
opened and came forth a young man in youthful favour fair and
robed in raiments pure and rare and said, " Tis well ! "_ Hereat the
governante addressed him, " O my son, indeed this my daughter is
athirst and I crave of thy kindness that thou give her a draught of
v later, seeing that she will not drink from the Water-carrier." He
replied, " With love and goodwill ; " and going within brought out
what was required and handed the cup to the old woman. She
took it and passed it on to her mistress and the young lady turning
her face to the wall raised her veil and drank her sufficiency with-
out showing a single feature. 4 After this she returned the cup to

1 Arab. " Sakkd " = a water-carrier, generally a bad lot. Of the " Sakkd Sharbah,"
who supplies water to passengers in the streets, there is an illustration in Lane ; M.E.
chapt. xiv.

2 In the text " Kahbah " an ugly word = our whore (/.*. hired woman) : it is fright-
fully common in every-day speech. See vol. ii. 70.

3 Arab. "Siba"k" usually = a leash (for falconry, etc.).

4 I have emphasised this detail which subsequently becomes a leading incideai.

The History of Al-Bundukani. tf

the old woman who took it and handed it back to the young man
saying, " Allah requite thee with all of weal, O my son ! " whereto he
replied, " Health to you and healing ! " * And the two went their
way and returned to the Palace and entered therein. On such
wise fared it with these twain ; but as regards the Caliph, when he
had finished filling the pancakes, he ranged them in a large charger
of porcelain ; then, summoning the Eunuch he said to him, " Take
up this and carry it to the daughter of Kisra and say her:
Here be the sweetmeats of peace, and let her know that I will night
with her this night." The Castrato did his lord's bidding ; and
carrying the charger to the Princess's apartment handed it to the
duenna and delivered the message, whereupon she blessed and
prayed for the Commander of the Faithful and the slave departed*
Now he was angry and disappointed for that he could not eat one
pancake of them all because they had become big by stuffing and
he feared that if he touched any thereof its place would show void.
Presently it so befel that the young lady said to the old woman,
her governante, " Do thou take up this charger and carry it to the
youth who gave us the draught of water with the intent that he
may not claim an obligation or have aught to desire of us."
Accordingly, the ancient dame took the charger and walked off
with it. But on her way she longed for a Katifah and put forth
her hand to one and took it up when she saw that it left in the line
of pancakes a gap big as a man's palm. Hereat she feared to
touch it and replaced it saying, " 'Twill be known that I carried
off one of them/'' Then after returning the pancake to its place,
she passed on with the charger to the door of that young ma*
whom she suddenly sighted as he sat at the gateway. She saluted
him with the salam which he returned, and then said she, " O my
son, the young lady who drank the water hath sent thee all these

1 Usual formulae when a respectable person is seen drinking : the same politeness was
also in use throughout the civilised parts of mediaeval Europe. See the word '* Hanian "
(vol. ii. 5), which at Meccah and elsewhere is pronounced also " Haniyyan."

48 Supplemental Nights.

cates in acknowledgment for the draught thou gavest her to drain."
Said he, " Set it down on the door-bench ; " and, when she did his
bidding, he expressed his thanks to her and she ganged her gait.
Now as the youth still sat there, the Watchman of the Ward
suddenly stood before him blessing him and saying, " O my lord,
this be Arafat-day and to-night will be the Eve of the Td, or
Greater Festival ; so I hope from the beneficence of my master the
Chamberlain and Emir Alaeddin (whom Allah Almighty keep and
preserve !) that he will deign order me a largesse befitting the Fete
wherewith I may buy sweetmeats for my wife and children." The
other replied, " Take this charger and wend thy ways therewith ; "
so the Watchman kissed his hand and carrying it off went home
and showed it to his wife. But she cried, " O thou miserable, 1
whence gottest thou this charger : hast thou wilfully stolen it or
suddenly snatched it ? " 2 Replied her mate, " This be the pro-
perty of the Emir Alaeddin, the Chamberlain (whom Allah pre-
serve !), and he gave it to me as an alms-gift ; so come hither all
of you that we eat, for the pancakes look toothsome." Rejoined
his wife, " Art thou Jinn-mad ? Up with thee and sell the charger
and cates, for the worth must be some thirty to forty dirhams which
we will lay out for the benefit of the little ones." He retorted,
" O woman, suffer us eat of this food wherewith the Almighty would
feed us ; " but she fell to wailing and crying out, " We will not
taste thereof while the children lack caps and slippers." 8 And
she prevailed over him with her opinion, for indeed women are

1 In text "Yd Ta'is," a favourite expression in this MS. Page 612 (MS.) has
*' Ta'ish," a clerical error, and in page 97 we have " Y& Ta'asat-nd " = O our misery !

2 As might a " picker up of unconsidered trifles."

3 In text " Akba' wa Zarabil." I had supposed the first to be the Pers. Kaba = a
short coat or tunic, with the Arab. 'Ayn (ihe second is the common corruption for
"Zarabfn" = slaves' shoes, slippers : see vol. x. i), but M. Hondas translates Ni calottts
ni ca/efons, and for the former word here and in MS. p. 227 he reads " 'Arakiyah" =
skull-cap: see vol. i. 215. [" Akba' is the pi. of "Rub'," which latter occurs infra,
p. 227 of the Ar. MS., and means, in popular language, any part of a garment covering
the head, as the hood of a Burnus or the top-piece of a Kalansuwah ; also a skull-cap,
usually called " 'Araqiyah." ST.]

The History of Al-Bundukani. 49

mostly the prevailers. So taking up the charger he fared with it
to the market-place and gave it for sale to a broker, and the man
began crying, " Who will buy this charger with whatso is thereon ? "
Hereat up came the Shaykh of the Bazar who bid forty dirhams
therefor, and a second merchant raised its price to eighty, when a
third hent it in hand and turning it about espied graven upon the
edge, " Made by commandment of Harun al-Rashid, Commander
of the Faithful." Hereat the trader's wits fled him and he cried
to the broker, " Hast thou a will to work for my hanging in this
matter of the charger ? " Quoth the other, " What may be the
meaning of these words ? " and quoth the merchant, " This charger
is the property of the Prince of True Believers." The broker,
dying of dread, took the charger and repaired therewith to the
Palace of the Caliphate where he craved leave to enter ; and, when
this was accorded, he went in and kissed ground before the pre-
sence and blessed the Commander of the Faithful and lastly
showed to him the charger. But when the Caliph looked at it and
considered it carefully, he recognized it with its contents, and he
waxed wroth with exceeding wrath and said in himself, " When I
make aught for the eating of my household, shall it be sent out
and hawked about for sale ? " adding to the broker, " Who gave
thee this charger ? " " O my lord, 'twas the Watchman of one of
the wards," replied he ; and Harun rejoined, " Bring him to me
hither." So they fared forth and fetched him bound in cords and
saying in his mind, " The whore would not suffer us eat of that was
in the charger and enjoy its sweetness, so this happened which
hath happened to us ; we have eaten naught and have fallen into
misfortune." But when they set him between the hands of the.
Caliph the latter asked him, " Where haddest thou yon charger ?
say me sooth or I will smite thy neck ! " The Watchman
answered, " Allah prolong the life of our liege lord ! verily as
regards this charger it was given to me by the Lord Alaeddin,
the junior Chamberlain." Hereat the Prince of True Believers
VOL. VI. D

$O Supplemental Nights.

redoubled in rage and cried, " Bring me that Emir with his
turband in tatters, and drag him along on his face and plunder
his home." Accordingly the magnates fared forth with their
pages ; and, reaching the house, knocked at the door, when the
owner came out and, seeing the officials, asked, " What is to do ? "
"'Tis against thee," replied some of the Grandees, whereto the
Chamberlain rejoined, "Hearkening and obeying Allah and
then the Commander of the Faithful!" After this they bore
him to the Palace of the Caliphate and an Emir of them put
forth his hand to the Chamberlain's coat and tare